Legends of the Demon Duelist Midnight Arc
by Wolf General
Summary: Fourth in the Legends of the Demon Duelist series. The dark god of dragons, Midnight, has waited long enough. It is time to strike, and crush all those who stand in his way.
1. An act of war declared

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 1: An act of war declared

"You, who are my servants, obey my will. It is time to begin my plans. And for that to occur I must bring forth the end of the one possible threat to my existence. And that is the Dark Halo. Do you understand?"

A single dark form stepped forward and nodded. "I understand, milord. Do you wish for me to go?"

"Yes, go Visque. Make sure you destroy him utterly."

"As you wish milord."

* * *

"Are you ready for the duel of your death?" Visque coldly sneered. 

Ichigo glanced behind him at the entrance to the cavern. Past the thin walkway they both stood on were the unconscious forms of Krieger and Griff. "You bastard. I won't accept this! I don't know who you are, but I'll make you pay with the power of the Dark Halo!" His eyes started to turn night black.

Visque waved a finger in the air. "Be civil or else I'll kill them from here. I can do so, thanks to the magic of plastic explosives. Do you understand?"

Ichigo's eyes shimmered back to hazel. "Fine, let's get this done. I'll beat you easily."

Ichigo- 4000

Visque- 4000

Visque drew; his silver and black duel disk nearly invisible in the dark cavern. "I begin with a monster in defense mode and two cards face-down. A standard play, but they say the oldest are the best."

Ichigo drew. "Oldest or not, it won't work on me! I summon Cyber Shadow Shifter!" (800/1200) A black-clothed ninja appeared on the field. "Also, I activate the magic card Shadow Shift! This card forces your face-down cards open!" Both cards flipped up and exploded into dust. Visque's face-down monster revealed itself to be a Pyramid Turtle. (1200/1400) "Also, I sacrifice Shifter through Shadow Shift to special summon King of Swords!" (2600/2300) A warrior wearing a pair of forearm blades appeared on the field. _"So my power has been called upon by Ichigo so soon? So be it."_

Visque didn't look worried.

"You won't be smiling in a second! I activate Monster Reborn on Shifter!" Ichigo held the card up…but nothing happened. "I said I activate Monster Reborn on Shifter!"

"It's useless." Visque started to laugh. "This isn't your normal darkness game. It's one where even if I lose you'll be crippled. Because this is an Eternal Death game!"

"Eternal Death?" Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "What's that?"

"In this sort of game, it doesn't matter how much you try to preserve yourself. There is no graveyard or removed from play pile, because once a card is used it is completely and utterly destroyed." Visque sneered. "So your Shifter is forever destroyed. There aren't even ashes."

Ichigo felt rage….but that was quickly suffused with a pure feeling. A pure anger. "I'll make you suffer! King of Swords attacks Pyramid Turtle with Ultimate Slash!" The mighty king shimmered and the Turtle exploded.

Ichigo- 4000

Visque- 2600

Visque smirked. "Though there is no graveyard to access, monsters destroyed as a result of battle are considered to go there. So I special summon Ryu Kokki through the effect of Pyramid Turtle!" A huge bone snake appeared on the field and hissed at Ichigo and King of Swords. (2400/2000)

Ichigo slid two cards into his disk. "I set two cards face-down and play Card of Sanctity. Now we both draw until we are holding six cards." Holding up his new hand, he looked the cards over. "End turn."

Visque drew. "I play Giant Trunade. This magic card sends all magic and trap cards in play back to their owner's hands." Both of Ichigo's set cards disappeared. "Then I play the magic card Night Curtain. By sacrificing a level six or higher monster in play I can special summon one monster from my hand to the field." Ryu Kokki disappeared and was replaced by a huge dark form. "Despair From the Dark (2800/3000) will now attack your monster!"

Ichigo's eyes went wide. "King of Swords!" The claw down onto the warrior and blew it apart. "NO!"

Ichigo- 3800

Visque- 2600

Visque slid a card into his disk. "End turn."

Ichigo clenched his fist and dropped to one knee. After punching the ground a few times, he stood up and drew. "You bastard…I'll make you pay for each one!" Looking at the drawn card his eyes narrowed. ("Every graveyard card is lost…but I can't let it stop me! The Cyber Shadows will understand if I sacrifice them to save my friends!") He slapped a card down. "I summon Cyber Shadow-Assassin (1000/800) in attack mode!" A black-clothed lithe warrior appeared in play. "Also, the equipment magic card Special Operative Weapon-Stinger!" A rocket launcher appeared over Assassin's shoulder. "This card will destroy Despair From the Dark!" A rocket flew out of the weapon and slammed into the titanic monster, blowing it apart. "Assassin, direct attack!" The warrior threw a knife that stuck in Visque's chest. "Also, I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Ichigo- 3800

Visque- 1600

Visque drew. "Now it's time to do some real damage! I summon Double Coston!" (1700/1650) A pair of black ghosts attached to each other with ectoplasm appeared in play. "Attack Assassin!" They both flew towards the warrior.

"Go Negate Attack!" Ichigo's set card flipped up. "This will stop your attack and end your battle phase!" Both ghosts stopped and returned to Visque's field.

The shadowed man frowned slightly. "End turn."

Ichigo drew. "I summon Cyber Shadow Blademaster!" (2000/1600) A dual-sword wielding warrior appeared on the field. "Then I activate Sword Gambit. This magic card can only be used if Blademaster is in play. I draw two cards and then discard one." He drew twice and then slid a card into his graveyard slot, trying not to think about what he was doing to it. "Now for your end! Field magic card Fusion Gate activates!" Up above them the cavern ceiling started to twist and warp. "Now's my chance to end this madness! Fusion Gate's special ability lets me fuse monsters without Polymerization! So I fuse together Assassin, Blademaster, and the Cyber Shadow Soldier in my hand together! Emerge now Lord of Knives!" (2800/2300) A black trench coat wearing warrior appeared in play. _"So this is it hmm? My last time to see the field of battle? So be it…then I will fight with all of my might!"_ Lord of Knives threw two handfuls of knives towards the Double Coston and the set card.

"Reveal Divine Wrath!" Visque discarded a card from his hand. "This counter trap will negate the effect of Lord of Knives and destroy it!"

Lord of Knives looked back at Ichigo, and then faded away.

Ichigo clenched his fist tighter. "You…" He slid two cards into his disk. "I set two cards face-down. End turn."

Visque drew and held the card up. "Heavy Storm destroys all magic and trap cards in play!" A blast of wind blew across the field, clearing the power of Fusion Gate and blowing both of Ichigo's set cards away. "Also, I sacrifice Double Coston for Vampire Lord!" (2000/1500) A vampire appeared on the field and smirked. "Attack him directly!" It flew forwards and bit into Ichigo's neck…or tried to right up to the point where he punched it right in the jaw.

Ichigo- 1800

Visque- 1600

Visque snickered. "I declare monster, which means that you must now send another of your precious Cyber Shadows from your deck to oblivion."

Ichigo fanned out his deck and felt tears fill up in his eyes. "I send Cyber Shadow Kuriboh away." The card faded. After inserting his deck back into place he snarled at Visque. "Normally I abstain from torturing people, but for you I'll make an exception!" He drew. "I summon Retriever (1000/1000) in defense mode. End turn." A silver crab robot appeared on the field.

Visque drew. "I set one card face-down and summon Des Lacooda (500/600) in attack mode." An undead camel appeared on the field. "Vampire Lord, get rid of that thing!" The undead monster slashed through the defender easily. "Des Lacooda, direct attack!" A sickly mist emerged from the monster's mouth and flowed around Ichigo. "Then I use the effect of Des Lacooda to flip it face-down." The monster was replaced by a set monster card. "End turn."

Ichigo- 1300

Visque- 1600

Ichigo drew. ("Another casualty…but I won't let it affect me. I can't stop!") He looked at the drawn card. "Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards." Sliding two cards off of his deck, he added them to his hand. "First I play Mystical Space Typhoon!" A blast of wind shattered the set card on Visque's field. "And now I set a monster face-down. End turn!"

Visque drew and then pointed at his set monster. "I flip summon Des Lacooda, and that lets me draw one card." He slid an additional card off of his deck. "I summon Nightmare Horse (500/400) in attack mode." An undead horse in mummy wrappings appeared in play. "This monster can attack directly!" It sprayed flames from its nostrils that licked against Ichigo's face. "And then I attack with Vampire Lord!" The undead monster slashed through the set card.

Ichigo- 800

Visque- 1600

"The special effect of Cyber Shadow Screamer (350/650) ends your battle phase!" A sonic screech filled the air.

Visque pointed at Des Lacooda and it turned back into a set card. "End turn."

Ichigo looked down at his deck. ("I have Monster Reborn and Polymerization in my hand. But without any monsters to access, they're both useless.") He drew…and his eyes widened weakly. ("Luna…you understand then.") Slowly he looked at Visque. "You want to destroy the Cyber Shadows? They know of their demise…and intend to strike back. In this one turn watch your life points disappear!"

"Bring your best, or whatever is left of your best. Considering all of the cards I've destroyed, you'll never be able to duel effectively again." Visque started to laugh…

Ichigo smiled slightly. "My oldest friends…" He looked upon Visque. "You…you aren't a murderer. All you are is a pitiful puppet." He held the card up. "Last Call to Battle! This magic card requires that I discard my deck into the graveyard after I draw five cards." He looked down at the deck that had served and helped him through thick and thin. ("I thank every single one of you…and hope that we meet again somehow. Forgive me for what I am about to do.") He drew five cards and then slid his deck into the graveyard. "You're about to feel what the dying force of the Cyber Shadows can do. I suggest you don't make any dinner plans! Polymerization…one last time!" A swirling vortex appeared up in the air above him. "I activate the single most powerful combination I can summon. A fusion so strong that its effect actually requires me to physically destroy it after use. And so be it…" He held up five cards. "I fuse Ninja, Berserker, Strongarm, Trainer and Shield Bearer together!" Something began to emerge from within the vortex. "It is time for the ultimate warrior. Come out now, Cyber Shadow God!" (Infinite/Infinite) A calm human-sized form lowered onto the field. It looked upon Visque, and snarled. "It's over."

"It doesn't matter. I've done my job." Visque snickered. "And my master shall be pleased."

"Cyber Shadow God! Genocide End!" The warrior flew past the three zombies and locked Visque into an embrace. "This monster can attack your life points directly!"

Visque spat into the warrior's visor. "Come and join me in hell then." He pressed down on a plunger. "And by the way, I was intending on killing them regardless of what you did."

"NO!" Ichigo felt everything slow down….until an explosion nearly threw him off of the walkway.

Above Krieger and Griff an explosion dislodged a few huge hunks of rock that started to fall rapidly towards them.

Ichigo knew that he wouldn't be able to get there in time…but he started to run anyways. ("Something…someone save them!")

A form appeared standing over their bodies, and then more forms appeared alongside it. They all snapped their arms up and a bubble of force appeared, stopping the rocks in mid-air.

Ichigo nearly fell off of the walkway. "Snake…Lord of Knives…King of Swords…Soldier…Assassin…Shifter…"

Snake's arms looked like they were going to buckle. "Ichigo…GO!"

Ichigo's eyes and hair shimmered night black. Light around him bend as he literally moved so fast that gravity couldn't even suck him down into the abyss below when he ran over thin air. Throwing both of his roommates over his shoulders, he looked up at Snake and the others. "Guys…come with me!"

"Sorry kid, but…" Snake felt his arms starting to collapse. "It's the end for us. Now get those two out of here!"

King of Swords looked up at the rocks and frowned. "This is where I die? So be it, then this is where I die…."

Lord of Knives looked upon Ichigo and bowed his head. "Thank you for treating us as friends…thank you for trusting us. Ichigo Pilkington…the greatest Cyber Shadow of them all."

Ichigo closed his eyes…and kicked off, turning into a blur. Less than a millisecond later he was standing at the edge of the cave. "Snake…everyone…thanks." He turned to look at Visque. "Like I said, Genocide End." And with that he was gone.

Visque smirked at Cyber Shadow God. "Well, blow us up then. Send me to a peaceful rest in the darkness realm."

The visor-wearing warrior silently looked over at Snake and the others. And all of them nodded to it. This was their final act in the mission. And like all missions, they planned on going out with a bang.

Snake tilted his head to look at the ground. "Ichigo…"

Cyber Shadow God exploded with the force of a nuclear warhead, instantly causing a cave-in that cut off the blast before it could leak out and damage anything else.

* * *

Ichigo stood in the rapidly rising dawn…his eyes misted over as he watched the remains of the cavern entrance. He started to sniffle…and then took something out of his pocket. "My Fusion Deck…" Taking the thick stack of cards, he started to dig a small hole. And then another small hole. And then another… 

By the time he was done there were small holes all over the area. And within each one he placed one of the fusion cards. And after burying them he said a little prayer and moved on.

Now he stood in front of the last grave. The one that held his dearest mentor and friend. "Snake…." Squeezing his eyes shut, he dropped to his knees and started to sob. Memories of the times flashed in his head, both good and bad. The time when Eri had taken his Cyber Shadows away from him. And then the time when he had first gotten them. ("My second family…those who always helped me. They're the ones who taught me the heart of a hero…") He cried louder…

* * *

Ichigo had returned the still unconscious Griff and Krieger to their room. Luckily Rikuo was taking one of his weekly twenty four hour napping periods, so the boy still had time. And now he was standing at the edge of a cliff, his eyes looking down at the ocean below. Tears dripped down his face still…and he felt so very cold inside. His Cyber Shadows were what made him what he was…without them he wasn't a hero. He wasn't anything. 

For a few moments he actually considered stepping off the edge of the cliff…but thought better of it. The last thing he wanted to do was make anyone sad if he died. And he knew that some of them would be sad.

What was worse was that the Seal of Luna was gone. Or at least the Seal card itself. He could still feel the power of Luna deep in his heart, but it was an empty consolation. ("My dueling skill…wasn't enough to keep them alive…they died because I was too stupid.") His eyes closed and he turned away from the rising sun. ("I will not duel again. No…I will not endanger the lives of anyone ever again!") He knew just how to do it to. Looking out at the sun one more time…he closed his eyes and felt blackness overtake him.

* * *

Midnight sat quietly in his chamber…and then started to laugh. His laughter echoed across the whole of his dimension. "His prescense is gone. He has sealed himself away…and that means that the Dark Halo is no longer a threat. As such…" His slotted crimson eyes flickered in the darkness of his throne room. "Let those of the Duelist Academy beware, for I come to complete plans that are millennia in the making. Soon the Makai Kami no Kados shall be mine. And when I possess their power, I will take the world with ease." His laughter shook the fabric of his dimension.

* * *

Ahran's eyes opened and he looked around in confusion. "Where am I?" He was lying in Ichigo's bed…but that didn't make any sense. The only reason he would appear was either if he was asked or if he felt it was needed. But he had been resting…

("Ichigo? Is something the matter?")

There was no response.

("Ichigo?") Ahran felt out into his link…but realized that he was cut off. ("Ichigo!")

Again, there was no response.

_To be continued…_

_Ahran here. I can't believe it…Ichigo's sealed himself away in his own body! And despite what uncle Ryu does he can't get him to come out. And what's worse is that this guy shows up calling himself one of Speakers of Midnight. But without Ichigo to accept his challenge, who can we trust to get the job done?_

_Next Episode: All that glitters_


	2. All that glitters

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 2: All that glitters

Ryu sighed and opened his eyes, taking in another sniff of the aroma from the candles. "Amazing…he's actually found a way to seal me out. He's found a way to cut himself off from the world." The dragon demon looked over at Daniel. "I'm sorry, but your son is gone. He's using the Dark Halo to form a barricade inside his body."

Eri watched Ahran and shivered. "What could have happened to cause him to seal himself away?"

The rest of the Duelist Academy team sat around the nurse's office silently. When they had heard that their leader was in trouble they had come running.

Adriel looked down at the ground. "Ichigo…"

Kenshin was looking out the window. "Does anyone else have the feeling like something will soon be happening that will leave us all in danger?"

Davis frowned and kicked his feet up onto a bed. "From what I can tell that is the basic setup for you guys anyway."

Hitokage looked out the window with Kenshin at the setting sun. "This is madness…Ichigo is too happy-go-lucky to need to withdraw in on himself. Something truly bad must have happened for him to do this."

"I know what it is…" Daniel closed his eyes, as if he was bowing his head in respect to the dead. "Ahran, where is your deck?"

The wolf demon fumbled about his pockets…and blinked in surprise. "It…isn't on me…"

Daniel clenched his fist. "Ichigo's deck was destroyed….or lost. One of the two. I can assume it's because of destruction, or else he'd be looking for the deck right now." He punched the wall.

"The Cyber Shadows are destroyed?" Adriel, Kenshin, Eri, Krieger, and Griff all had differing reactions to this. Adriel seemed a mix of happy and disappointed, while Eri looked horrified.

Ryu closed his eyes and growled deep in his throat. "What sick bastard would do such a thing?" He tried to imagine his elemental dragons getting destroyed…and the urge to kill started to rise in his mind.

None of the members of the room seemed to like that idea. After all, it wasn't something they could enjoy at all. Those were their decks that were being spoken of. It was like their souls.

* * *

Midnight looked against the far wall of his dark throne room. "Akuma, I need you."

A form seemed to appear right through the wall. "Yes milord?"

"Go now and keep stirring things up amongst those at the Duelist Academy. Use whatever methods you wish."

Akuma faded away.

* * *

Midas King looked at the collapsed cavern entrance with wide eyes. "This place looks like it has been through a battlefield…" He noticed all of the lumps of dirt….and carefully dug one up. His eyes widened in amazement at what he saw. "It's you…Snake…the one who killed my Enraged Muka Muka." It took him only a moment to understand. He had heard about Ichigo… ("What dark soul could do that…")

"You." A cold voice said.

Midas stood up and turned around to look at the giant of a man who stood about twenty feet away from him. "And who are you?" His confusion turned to anger. "Are you the one who did this?"

"No, but the culprit was an associate of mine." Akuma tugged on his gi. "Now prepare yourself human. The duel begins now." A duel disk appeared on his arm.

Midas clenched his fist and then let it relax. Warming up his Duel Coat, he glared at the giant. "I will not tolerate it! Duel!"

Midas- 4000

Akuma- 4000

Akuma drew. "I begin with Hell Blazer." (2200/1200) An explosion of fire lifted up his field and a dragon made of flames formed. "Also I set one card face-down. End turn."

Midas drew. "For my first move I play Pot of Greed!" He drew twice. "Then I play the magic card Greed Vault." Behind him a huge golden bank vault appeared. "This continuous magic card activates whenever an effect that concerns the number of cards in my hand is activated. The number of cards in my hand is considered to be plus three." He slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down, and I also place a monster face-down. End turn." Now he only had three cards in his hand, but he knew all too well that soon enough he would be getting a lot more cards.

Akuma drew. "Your strategy is amusing, but little more than that. To face one such as me you must be strong of spirit! I play Polymerization!" He held up two cards. "Frontier Wiseman and Possessed Dark Soul combine to form Dark Balter the Terrible!" (2000/1000) An ugly warped humanoid appeared on the field. "Attack the set monster now!" It leapt forward and slashed through the set monster. "And the effect of Dark Balter negates the effect of whatever he destroys in battle!"

Midas gritted his teeth and pointed at his set card. "I activate the trap card Gold Shield! This card will protect me from all life point damage for this turn if I have at least three cards in my hand!" A glowing golden shield sprang up around him.

Akuma glowered. "End turn."

Midas drew. ("With Dark Balter in play my abilities are limited.") "I play the magic card Fissure. This card will destroy the lowest attack monster on your field!"

Akuma pointed at Dark Balter. "The effect of Dark Balter activates! By paying 1000 life points I can negate the activation of one normal magic card!" Balter chanted and the Fissure card shattered.

Midas- 4000

Akuma- 3000

Midas looked down at his hand. "Therefore, I set one monster face-down and one card face-down. End turn."

Akuma drew. "Dark Balter, run through his pitiful defense!" The demon slashed through the set monster easily.

Midas pointed at his set card. "I reveal Golden Entombment! This card allows me to take a monster defeated in battle and place it back into my hand. Also, I draw two cards." He slid two cards off of his deck, leaving him with four cards now.

"It doesn't matter! Hell Blazer, direct attack!" The dragon opened its jaws and sprayed Midas with fire.

The professor had been expecting a little bit of pain, but what he got instead was a feeling as if his entire form was aflame. It burned deep into his skin and seared at his clothing.

Midas- 1800

Akuma- 3000

Akuma pointed at the fallen professor. "I was expecting something dangerous. Instead I just get a weakling human. End turn."

Midas' form twitched, but otherwise he didn't move.

* * *

Kenshin frowned. "Something is wrong…can't you feel it?"

Ryu grimaced. "A darkness game…"

Everyone in the room looked at each other and then all of them ran out of the office. Whatever was going on had to be stopped.

* * *

"You're pitiful. Even for a human…" Akuma was stopped in mid-sentence as Midas stood up.

"You…are a trickster. Somehow you have turned up the damage of your solid vision system. But I won't let that stop me!" He drew. "I summon Muka Muka (600/300) in attack mode!" A stone crab appeared on the field. "This monster's special ability lets it gain 300 attack and defense points for every card in my hand!" (2700/2400) He pointed at Dark Balter. "Attack now! Pinch Strike!" The crab hissed and charged, tearing through the monster easily. "End turn!"

Midas- 1800

Akuma- 2300

Akuma drew. "You think you can hold against me with such a strange monster?" He pointed at his set card. "Then you are sadly mistaken. Reveal Call of the Haunted!" Dark Balter emerged from the dirt at his feet. "Also, I play the magic card Monster Reborn. Revive now Possessed Dark Soul!" (1200/800) A form made of red fire appeared in the air next to Balter. "It ends here…" He smirked and held up his drawn card. "It is the power of death…and the power to steal away life!" His hand waved over his three monsters. "All three of these beasts have served their purpose…and now they are sacrifices…to one of the mightiest monsters in this game!" All three of the demons disappeared into a swirling tornado of black wind.

"Professor King!" Kenshin literally left a dust trail behind him as he ran towards the dueling field. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just fine Kenshin." The professor smirked slightly. "And I believe that this dear man was about to summon the instrument of my destruction?"

The tornado stopped spinning…and cleared to reveal a creature made up of nothing but muscle and bone tissue. It towered a hundred feet in the air, and it slowly lowered its head down to glare at Midas and the Muka Muka.

Akuma lifted his hand up to the air. "The mighty Archfiend Emperor (5000/0) in attack mode!" The god-like demon roared loudly, shaking the entire island with its rage.

"Amazing…" Kenshin stared in amazement at the monster.

Daniel skidded to a stop and felt his heart stop. "That thing…I've seen it before…"

Akuma slid a card from his hand into his graveyard. "The effect of Archfiend Emperor lets me increase its attack power by the attack of one demon monster I discard!" He snickered and energy flowed around the body of the Emperor. "I discard Summoned Skull (2500/1200) to raise the attack of my monster by 2500!" (7500/0) Slowly his hand lifted up to point at Muka Muka. "Go now! Claw of the Abyss!" The Emperor dropped its claws down onto the little crab monster, shattering it.

"From my hand…" Midas could barely speak over the roar of air that accompanied the strike against him. "I activate the effect of Golden Shield!" (0/0) "This card will prevent me from taking more than 1000 life points of damage from one attack!" Though the actual damage was buffered, he was send bouncing backwards as the force pushed against his body roughly.

Midas- 800

Akuma- 2300

Akuma glowered again. "You are like a fly that just doesn't know when to give up. I set one card face-down and end my turn." Now he had no cards in hand, but it didn't matter. Thanks to its effect the Archfiend Emperor couldn't be destroyed by effects or taken control of. It was perfect…

Midas was still on the ground, his gold beard dirty and his eyes closed.

"Professor King!" Kenshin clenched his fist so tightly that the bones cracked. "Get up! You can do it!"

* * *

_Kenshin sat at the edge of his bed and cried quietly._

"_**What are you anyway?"**_

"_**Some kind of freak…look at those ears…"**_

"_So you're the new student I heard of?" Someone sat down alongside the bed._

_Kenshin looked up and tried to wipe the tears from his eyes. "Yes…I'm Kenshin Anderson."_

_Midas closed his eyes. "The children here are very cruel. I am sorry that your first day was a bad one."_

_Kenshin blinked in surprise. "Hey now…who are you anyway?"_

_Midas coughed and looked away. "I am Midas King of the Duelist Academy Obelisk Blue. I suppose you met some of my boys not too long ago."_

"_Obelisk Blue…" Kenshin closed his eyes. "Those boys were so mean…"_

"_I try to teach them to be kind, but it never works out correctly." Midas frowned. "Forgive them, for they are sometimes such idiots." He looked down at Kenshin. "So smile…because things aren't always as bad as you think them to be."

* * *

_

Kenshin clenched his fists tighter. "Professor King! Wake up! Please…"

Daniel heard the love in Kenshin's voice…and stepped forwards past the boy. "King, stand up."

Midas lifted his head weakly. "Pilkington…"

"If you truly are a duelist of this Academy, then show your worth now! Show me the pride for this Academy I saw when you challenged for permission before!" He pointed at the golden-clothed duelist. "Stand up…and fight!"

"I…must…" Midas stumbled to his feet. "It's my turn…and you will not bring down one of the greatest duelists in history! I am Midas King…the greatest of this academy…" He drew. "I summon Enraged Muka Muka (1200/900) in attack mode!" A huge stone crab appeared on the field.

Krieger blinked a couple of times. "That monster has five stars though…how'd he summon it without sacrifice?"

"The special ability of Greed Vault lowers the level of all monsters that have an effect involving the number of cards in the owner's hand by one." Daniel smiled slightly.

"The effect of Enraged Muka Muka raises its attack and defense power by 400 points for every card in my hand!" (4000/3700) Midas clenched his fist and the three cards in his hand.

Akuma started a rumbling laugh that was joined in by the Archfiend Emperor. "You fool…that's not enough!"

"I'm not done yet!" Midas held up a card. "I activate the magic card Muka Muka Limit Break!" Enraged Muka Muka and the Greed Vault shattered. "I sacrifice Enraged Muka Muka to summon King Muka Muka!" (2000/1700) A huge stone crab wearing a crown appeared on the field. "For every card in my hand it gains 1000 attack and defense points!" (4000/3700)

"Now you have an even weaker monster in play!" Akuma started to laugh…

"I'm not finished! Card of Sanctity go!" He held up a card. "This magic card forces us both to draw until we are holding six cards in our hand!" He slid five cards off of his deck. "And now…" (8000/7700)

"8000 attack points…" Akuma's eyes widened.

"King Muka Muka, attack Archfiend Emperor now! Golden Claw!" The crab monster roared and released a blast of golden light from its claw that hit the god demon and blew it apart.

Midas- 800

Akuma- 1800

Akuma braced himself against the backlash. "I'm not done yet either!"

"Maybe…maybe not! From my hand I activate the magic card Hand Death! If we have the same number of hand cards, this card included, them we both discard our hands!"

Akuma stared in amazement as his six cards disappeared.

Midas did the same. "End turn!" (2000/1700)

Akuma stood quietly, smoke rising off of his body. "For a human…you are still pitiful."

"What?" Midas pointed at the field. "I am the one with the advantage now!"

"Really?" Akuma drew. "I play Pot of Greed. This magic card lets me draw two cards." Sliding two cards off of his deck, he smirked slightly. "I am not some weakling spawn. I am a Speaker of Midnight. And as such…you shall meet your end! Monster Reborn on Summoned Skull!" (2500/1200) The discarded demon general appeared on the field and roared. "Attack King Muka Muka now! Demon Thunder!" The monster released a blast of electricity that blew the green monster apart.

Midas- 300

Akuma- 1800

Midas braced himself against the backlash. "I am not beaten…"

"From my hand I play the magic card Sneak Attack from the Darkness! This card lets me have a battle phase after the end phase of my turn!" Summoned Skull roared again. "Good-bye, pitiful human!"

Midas' eyes widened…and then he looked over at Kenshin and Daniel. "Pilkington…take good care of him. He is good, but he still needs training."

"King…" Daniel clenched his fists tightly. "Don't…"

"Summoned Skull…" Akuma pointed at the professor.

Kenshin felt tears build up in his eyes. "Professor…"

"Kenshin…I chose the wrong path…you must fight this darkness with light. The power of earth wasn't enough…please…" He turned to face Akuma. "Bring your final blow!"

"Demon's Thunder!" The Summoned Skull released a blast of lightning that slammed into Midas. He didn't scream…instead he just ground his teeth…before dropping to the ground dead.

Midas- 0

Akuma- 1800

Akuma shuffled his deck and smirked, his red eyes shimmering in the gathering night. "So…who is next?"

Daniel narrowed his eyes. "I'll…I'll destroy you!" He started to move forwards…but gasped in surprise as Kenshin leapt past him. "Kenshin no!"

"I CHALLENGE YOU!" The boy's duel disk locked into place.

Kenshin- 4000

Akuma- 4000

_To be continued…_

_Kenshin, what's the matter with you? Control yourself! You can't expect to beat this Akuma guy with the cards you have so far, can you? He's got that Archfiend Emperor, and there are even more powerful monsters in his deck!_

_Next Episode: The Crusader's Rage_

To Rex: Yup. Midnight wants his plans to come to truth badly.

To Gryphinwyrm: It's only going to get more intense.

To Seeker of the Soul: This is the time for shockers, trust me.

To Bobbomp: Considering you never posted any reviews of the Hidden Pack Story, I'd say I don't care whether you like it or not.

To Anime Albino: I have no response to that. If you want to be heartless, then go right ahead.

To john: You ask that kind of question now?

To Neo Arkadia: Hey, there's no other way to go than with a bang.

To falcon demon general: I think you would be speechless no matter what I do. All of your reviews are less than ten words.


	3. The Crusader's Rage

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 3: The Crusader's Rage

"_Demon's Thunder!" The Summoned Skull released a blast of lightning that slammed into Midas. He didn't scream…instead he just ground his teeth…before dropping to the ground dead._

_Midas- 0_

_Akuma- 1800_

_Akuma shuffled his deck and smirked, his red eyes shimmering in the gathering night. "So…who is next?"_

_Daniel narrowed his eyes. "I'll…I'll destroy you!" He started to move forwards…but gasped in surprise as Kenshin leapt past him. "Kenshin no!"_

"_I CHALLENGE YOU!" The boy's duel disk locked into place._

_Kenshin- 4000_

_Akuma- 4000_

Kenshin drew first. "You murderer…I'll make you pay!" He looked at the drawn card. "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800/1600) in attack mode!" A black and silver knight appeared on the field. "Also, I set one card face-down. End turn."

Akuma slid his deck into place and drew. "I'll simply set a monster face-down and one card face-down as well." His gnarled lips curled slightly. "End turn."

Kenshin drew. "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800/1600) in attack mode!" Another black and silver knight appeared on the field. "Gearfried number one, attack the set monster!" The knight slashed through the set monster.

"Dark Mimic Level 1 (100/1000) lets me draw one card when flipped up." Akuma drew once. "Also, I reveal the trap card Dark Omen. This trap card lets me remove a fiend monster from my graveyard to destroy one card in play." The other Gearfried shattered and he removed Dark Mimic Level 1 from his graveyard.

Kenshin looked at his hand. "I end my turn for now."

Daniel knew there wasn't anything else he could do for now. Since the darkness game had started there was no way for him to end it until one of the two players fell.

* * *

Midnight watched the duel through the eyes of his servant. ("You are doing well Akuma. Keep pushing them…keep weakening their duelists. Take down as many as you can.") 

_("As you command my master.")

* * *

_

Akuma drew. "I set two cards face-down on the field." Two magic/trap cards shimmered into existence in front of him. "End turn."

Kenshin drew. "I summon Freed the Brave Wanderer!" (1700/1200) A blond-haired in lieutenant's armor appeared on the field and pointed its sword at Akuma. "Attack his…"

"Reverse card open!" One of Akuma's two set cards flipped up. "I activate Double Self. This trap destroys one monster when it is normal summoned, and it also deals half of that monster's attack points in damage to you!" Freed exploded.

Kenshin- 3150

Akuma- 4000

Kenshin snarled and pointed at Akuma. "Gearfried, attack directly!" The knight charged forwards…

"Monster ability activates….Kuriboh!" (300/200) Akuma held up a card. "When this monster is discarded from my hand I can negate one source of battle damage to me!" A little brown furball appeared in front of the knight just in time to get cut apart. "Reverse card open! Dark Omen!" His other card flipped up. "I remove Kuriboh to destroy Gearfried!"

Kenshin's eyes widened as his other monster was destroyed. "End turn…"

Akuma drew. "I activate the magic card Foolish Burial. This card lets me take one monster from my deck and send it to my graveyard." He fanned out his deck and removed a card, sliding it into the graveyard slot with a dark smile on his face. "Now I summon Possessed Dark Soul (1200/800) in attack mode." A being made of red-purple fire appeared on the field. "Also, the effect of the monster I sent to the graveyard is triggered."

A black energy flowed out of his graveyard into the Possessed Dark Soul. "Nightmare General (1800/1700) gives 300 extra attack points to all demons in play when I remove it from the game." (1500/900) "Attack now! Soul Burning!" The fire form lifted an arm and pointed at Kenshin. "Take this!"

"Reverse card open! Negate Attack!" A swirl of energy appeared in front of Kenshin.

The Possessed Dark Soul released a blast of flame from its hand that hit the vortex and dissipated. Akuma looked down at his hand. "End turn."

Kenshin drew. ("It's time to strike back…") He threw a card down. "I summon Axe-Wielding Knight (1700/1150) and have it attack Possessed Dark Soul!" A burly knight holding a battle-axe appeared and charged, slashing through the fiery demon with no problem. "End turn!"

Kenshin- 3150

Akuma- 3800

Akuma drew. "It's interesting to see how demons react to humans dying. Strangely many of them react with anger. It's odd…perhaps envy is what is driving you now?"

Kenshin snarled louder. "Just make your move."

"As you wish." Akuma flipped the drawn card over. "I activate the power of Dark Revelation. This magic card requires that I summon no other monsters during this turn. Now I guess what the top card of my deck is. If it is the monster, then it is summoned to the field at half attack strength." He touched his index finger to the top of it. "It is the Archfiend Emperor!" It left the top of his deck and was thrown down onto his disk. "And the truth is revealed…face it…the power of the Archfiend Emperor!" (2500/0) A black tornado exploded out of the ground in front of him and stretched up high into the air. "It comes…can you feel its hellish might?"

Ahran, his chest burning from the fact that he had run all over the island, finally found out where Daniel and Kenshin had gone. "What's going on?" He looked over and saw the unmoving of Midas King. "And who in the bloody hell is that?"

Daniel narrowed his eyes as he saw the tornado fade away. ("The Archfiend Emperor…which cannot be destroyed by any effect or taken control of. Its sheer power is incredible…")

Akuma started to laugh. "It's the end for you!" The hundred foot tall demon appeared. "I discard Theban Nightmare (1500/500) to raise the attack of Archfiend Emperor!" (4000/0) "Your target is there, Claw of the Abyss!" The demon's claw fell downwards and crushed the knight. "End turn."

Kenshin- 850

Akuma- 3800

Kenshin coughed a few times and then drew. "I'm not done yet!" He threw a card down. "I summon Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650) in defense mode!" A blue armored knight appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Also, I play the magic card Swords of Revealing Light!" Green glowing swords of light slammed down onto the field. "This card will prevent you from attacking for three turns! End turn!"

Akuma drew. "I set one monster face-down on the field and end my turn."

Kenshin drew. "I play the magic card Pot of Greed. This magic card lets me draw two cards." He slid two new cards off of his deck. "Now I summon Hayabusa Knight (1000/700) in defense mode." A hawk-headed knight appeared on the field. "End turn!"

Akuma drew. "Now I flip summon Mask of Darkness!" (900/400) A yellow wooden mask appeared on his field. "When flipped this monster lets me take back one trap card from my graveyard." He held up a Dark Omen trap. "Then I sacrifice Mask of Darkness to summon Dark Ruler Hades!" (2450/1600) A demon wearing lordly robes and holding a wine glass appeared on the field. "This monster's effect makes it so that whenever a demon destroys a monster as a result of battle that monster's effect is negated! Also, I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Kenshin drew and Swords of Revealing Light shattered. ("With that Dark Omen he can destroy one card in play. I have to make sure he doesn't set me up for a direct attack.") "I set one monster face-down and one card face-down. End turn."

Akuma drew. "You think you're safe? I activate the effect of the magic card Undead Servitude. This magic card will special summon one monster from your graveyard to my field in defense mode." Freed the Brave Wanderer appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Then I sacrifice Freed to bring out Summoned Skull!" The warrior disappeared and was replaced by a towering demonic figure that roared and then settled in alongside the Dark Ruler. (2500/1200)

Kenshin narrowed his eyes. ("Come on…take the bait…")

Akuma pointed at his set card. "I reveal the power of Dark Omen. By removing Possessed Dark Soul from my graveyard I will destroy your set trap card!" The set card exploded into dust.

Kenshin smirked slightly. "Actually my set card was Kishido Spirit, but thanks for trying."

Akuma pointed at the three monsters on his opponent's field. "Demon Thunder!" Summoned Skull released a blast of lightning that shattered Kaiser Seahorse. "Lord's Roar!" The Dark Ruler roared, the shockwave hitting Hayabusa Knight and blowing it apart. "And finally, Claw of the Abyss!" Archfiend Emperor's claw dropped down and crushed the set monster. "Soon you will share the fate of that sad little human that I killed. End turn."

Kenshin narrowed his eyes slowly… "Professor King…" He snarled again, and his irises turned blood red momentarily. "It's my turn now! DRAW!" He snapped the top card off of his deck. And when he looked upon it he nodded to the air. "I will avenge you with this power!" He took a different card from his hand and held it up. "The Warrior Returning Alive will return one warrior monster from my graveyard to my hand." He grasped a card from his graveyard slot and threw it down. "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode!" His black and silver knight appeared on the field.

"That monster can't hope to defeat my monsters." Akuma smirked. "Prepare for the cold embrace of death."

"That won't be happening." Kenshin held up another card. "I activate Remove Restraints!" Gearfried's armor exploded, leaving a mighty raven-haired warrior standing on the field. "Gearfried the Swordmaster (2600/2200) is summoned."

Everyone came charging over the hill…and numerous gasps of surprise could be heard immediately.

Eri, Adriel and Hitokage all ran towards the fallen Midas King. "Professor!"

Daniel snapped out his arm, signaling them to stop. "Let Kenshin finish this."

Akuma chuckled coldly. "Archfiend Emperor will tear through that weakling with no problem."

"No, he won't!" Kenshin held up the last card in his hand. "Because he'll be leaving very soon!" Two cards were spat out of his graveyard. "I remove a light monster and a dark monster! Come out now, Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning!" (3000/2500) The blue-armored envoy appeared on his field and pointed its sword at the Archfiend Emperor. "Your monster may be impossible to destroy with effects, but this will work! Remove it from the game now! Void Slash!" The Black Luster Soldier leapt across the field and cut through the huge demon. It roared in pain and faded away.

"Archfiend Emperor has been removed?" Akuma's red eyes widened.

"Gearfried, destroy the Dark Ruler now!" The raven-haired warrior flashed past the demon and it exploded. "End turn!"

Kenshin- 850

Akuma- 3650

Akuma clenched his fist and drew. "I switch Summoned Skull into defense mode." The demon wrapped its wings in front of it and dropped to one knee. "Then I set one monster face-down. End turn."

Kenshin drew. "I play Monster Reborn! This magic card will revive Gearfried the Iron Knight from my graveyard!" The black and silver knight appeared. "This is your end!" He pointed at Summoned Skull. "Black Luster Soldier, attack now!" The warrior cried out and leapt, slashing through the kneeling demon easily.

Akuma braced himself. "I'll still survive…"

"Black Luster Soldier has two abilities! The first is the ability to remove from the field, but the second lets it attack again when it destroys a monster as a result of battle! Go!" The warrior slashed through the other card and stood in place, its eyes meeting Akuma's. "You have lost murderer. Gearfried the Swordmaster, direct attack!" The raven-haired warrior lifted its sword and leapt over the Black Luster Soldier, ready to cut through the red-eyed Speaker of Midnight.

Akuma closed his eyes. "Only you have lost, foolish and reckless little boy." Black Luster Soldier roared out a battle cry and slashed through Gearfried the Swordmaster.

Kenshin- 450

Akuma- 3650

Everyone stared at the Soldier in confusion. It glared at Kenshin with now red eyes, growling.

"Black Luster Soldier…what are you doing?" Kenshin clenched his fist. "Stop acting like a fool and obey me!"

"The only fool here is you." Akuma pointed at something latched onto the Soldier's head. "Do you see it?"

Kenshin's eyes went wide. "Brain Jacker…" (200/900)

"That's right." Akuma pointed to the grey brain-shaped monster that had a tentacle sticking in the head of the warrior. "This monster equips itself to one monster in play when flipped up. That monster is under my control!"

Kenshin's hands dropped to his sides. "End….turn…"

Akuma drew. "It's over for you. Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning…attack now!" The warrior launched across the field and yelled out a battle cry right before it slashed through Gearfried.

Kenshin- 0

Akuma- 3650

Kenshin dropped to his knees and looked up weakly at the Black Luster Soldier. "Professor King…I was wrong…." He clutched at his chest and fell face-first to the ground, unmoving.

"Kenshin!" Everyone ran over to the boy and hefted him up, while the Black Luster Soldier disappeared.

Daniel checked his pulse and frowned. "He's alive…but this was a darkness game…" He stood up and closed his eyes. "Everyone but Ahran take Kenshin and professor King out of here now."

Ahran nodded and stood up.

Adriel shook his head. "We'll help…"

"I SAID GO!" Daniel stopped a claw just an inch from Adriel's throat. "OR WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO…."

Adriel stumbled back and nodded weakly.

Hitokage helped Eri get Kenshin up, and Krieger and Adriel helped Midas to his feet. As they started to leave Daniel turned to face Akuma. "You…are a monster. You are an unholy beast that I will lovingly send to the deepest pits of hell!"

"My name is Akuma, and I have already seen hell." The red-eyed giant sneered. "Would you like to try your luck against me then?"

"I am Daniel Pilkington, the wolf demon lord!" Daniel lifted his disk and it clicked into place. "Duel!" He glanced back at Ahran and gave the emerald-eyed boy a knowing nod.

Ahran knew why he was here. With his father still asleep he'd be next in line to try and defeat Akuma. ("And he wants me to watch this, in case he can exploit some weakness in Akuma's strategy.")

Akuma shuffled his deck again. "And the bodies just keep piling up…"

Daniel- 4000

Akuma- 4000

_To be continued…_

_Akuma…I cannot tolerate this! If you want to fight a true duelist, then here I am! I'll show you the power of the Elemental Heroes at their fullest! Duel!_

_Next Episode: Power of a Hero_

To Justin: Akuma isn't screwed. He's incredibly good.

To Neo Arkadia: I'm not holding back because I'm venting.

To G.O.T. Nick: Thank you, I like that new addition also. Ichigo may return, but yes the Cyber Shadows are gone.

To falcon demon general: There you go. Now you're giving me some feedback, and that is all I ask.

To Dais: Yeah, he was in over his head.

To Adriel: And what if they are? What then?

To Sinister: Aww…you're no fun at all.


	4. Power of a Hero

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 4: Power of a Hero

Midnight sat back and took a sip of his glass of red wine. "This is beautiful…Akuma…" He chuckled quietly. "Such an amazing amount of power you possess. But I suppose being trapped in the abyss will do that to one such as yourself. Now you face Daniel Pilkington though…"

_("Master…I cannot be defeated by these mortal beings…")

* * *

_

"_I am Daniel Pilkington, the wolf demon lord!" Daniel lifted his disk and it clicked into place. "Duel!" He glanced back at Ahran and gave the emerald-eyed boy a knowing nod._

_Ahran knew why he was here. With his father still asleep he'd be next in line to try and defeat Akuma. ("And he wants me to watch this, in case he can exploit some weakness in Akuma's strategy.")_

_Akuma shuffled his deck again. "And the bodies just keep piling up…"_

_Daniel- 4000_

_Akuma- 4000_

Akuma drew. "I'll be going first." He placed a card face-down on his disk. "I set one monster face-down on the field and end my turn."

Daniel drew. "The magic card Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards!" He snapped two cards off of his deck and held them up. ("Perfect…") "I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) in attack mode!" A yellow and blue-suited superhero appeared on the field and struck a pose, lightning crackling along its form. "Attack the set monster now! Spark Slash!" Lightning launched from the hero's fingers in a burst that hit the set card. "Gotcha!"

"Not quite." Akuma snickered as the electricity dissipated. "Protector of the Sanctuary (1100/1900) has enough defenses to hold against your attack." A neon outline appeared on the field.

Daniel- 3700

Akuma- 4000

Daniel slid a card from his hand into his disk. "I set one card face-down. End turn!"

Akuma drew. "You think your set card frightens me?" He held up a card. "Mystical Space Typhoon!" A blast of wind hit the set card and blew it apart. "That isn't all!" Protector of the Sanctuary was swallowed up in a small whirlwind. "I sacrifice my Protector to bring out Summoned Skull!" (2500/1200) A tall demon made of muscle tissue and bone appeared on the field. "Try this! Demon Thunder!" It released a blast of lightning that hit Sparkman and destroyed it instantly.

Daniel- 2800

Akuma- 4000

Daniel braced himself against the backlash and then looked at the Summoned Skull coldly. "You're on my list of things to kill." He drew. When his eyes saw the card's image he smirked slightly. "I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200) in attack mode!" A blue-armored superhero appeared in play and struck a curious pose. "When I have no other cards in play and this card is summoned I draw two cards!" Snapping two new cards off of his deck, he held them up. "I play Silent Rebirth! This magic card revives one normal monster from my graveyard!" Sparkman appeared on the field in a crouching position.

Akuma's eyes narrowed. ("A defense…?")

Daniel smirked and slid a card into his disk. "Activate Polymerization! This magic card will fuse Sparkman, Bubbleman and the Featherman in my hand together!" A swirling vortex pulled the three monsters out of sight. "Elemental Hero Tempest (2800/2800) is summoned!" A visor-wearing winged hero with a blaster instead of a right hand appeared on the field. "Attack Summoned Skull now! Chaos Tempest!" The warrior bellowed and pointed its blaster at the demon, obliterating it with a wave of blue energy.

Daniel- 2800

Akuma- 3700

Daniel slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down on the field. End turn."

Akuma drew. "A fusion…" He glowered. "It is mighty, but not mighty enough for me." He placed a card onto his disk. "First I summon Element Soldier (1500/1200) in attack mode." A spear-holding armored demon appeared in play. "And then I play the equipment magic card Mask of the Accursed." A hideous mask appeared over Tempest's face. "This magic card prevents your monster from attacking. Also, every one of my standby phases you'll take 500 life points of damage. End turn."

Daniel gritted his teeth and drew. "First I'll switch Tempest into defense mode." The fusion hero crouched. "And then I summon Elemental Hero Burst Lady (1200/800) in attack mode!" A red-suited female superhero appeared on the field.

"That monster is no match for my Element Soldier." Akuma sneered calmly. "And as long as that fusion is trapped behind my mask all you can do is sit back and let your life points drop."

"Actually…" Daniel opened his field magic card slot. "I've got a surprise for you. It's the field magic card Skyscraper!" All around them huge buildings exploded up into the air. "As long as this field magic card is in play all monsters with hero in their title gain 1000 attack points when they battle with a stronger monster! Burst Lady, attack Element Soldier with Burst Fire!" The woman threw a fireball at the armored demon and blew it apart instantly. (2200/800) "End turn!"

Daniel- 2800

Akuma- 3000

Akuma growled and angrily drew. "Mask of the Accursed damages you for 500 life points!"

Daniel- 2300

Akuma- 3000

Daniel grinned. "I'll run you down before my life points disappear."

"Are you so certain of that?" Akuma held up a card. "I summon Opticlops!" (1800/1700) A single-eyed giant appeared on the field. "Also, I play the magic card Riryoku! This magic card will take half of Burst Lady's attack and give it to my monster until the end of the turn!" (600/800) (2400/1700) "Opticlops, attack now!" The monster roared and slashed through the superhero. (1600/800)

Daniel- 1500

Akuma- 3000

Daniel dropped to one knee and clutched at his chest. ("Damn…")

Akuma started to chuckle. "End turn." (1800/1700)

Ahran clenched his fist. "Hang in there…"

Daniel stood up. "I'm going to do more than that! Draw!" He looked at the drawn card. "I switch Tempest into attack mode!" The fusion hero stood up. "And now…Mystical Space Typhoon!" A blast of wind hit the Mask of the Accursed and blew it apart. "Tempest, attack Opticlops now! Chaos Tempest!" The warrior fired its blaster and blew the Cyclops away instantly. "End turn."

Daniel- 1500

Akuma- 2000

Akuma drew. "I set one card face-down and one monster. The turn is yours Pilkington."

Daniel drew. "Tempest, attack the set monster now! Chaos Tempest!" The warrior fired another blast of energy that blew the set monster apart.

"Dark Mimic Level 1 (100/1000) activates its special ability." Akuma drew one card.

Daniel frowned. "End turn."

Akuma drew. ("I've pulled it…") "I set one monster face-down on the field and one card face-down. End turn."

Daniel drew. "Elemental Hero Tempest, attack the set monster now! Chaos Tempest!" The warrior fired its blast at the set monster.

Akuma sneered. "Reverse card open! Deck Destruction Virus!" His face-down card revealed a Kuriboh. (300/200) It squeaked and exploded, spraying a purple mist across Daniel's field and deck. "Now all 1500 or more attack monsters in your deck, field, and hand are sent to the graveyard!" Tempest dispersed with the mist.

Daniel growled and fanned out his deck, taking a few cards and sliding them into his graveyard slot. "I set one monster face-down on the field and end my turn."

Akuma drew. "I summon Twin-Headed Wolf (1500/1200) and order it to attack your set monster!" A two-headed demon wolf appeared on the field and bit through the set monster. "End turn!"

Daniel slid the card into his graveyard and drew. "I set one monster face-down. End turn."

Akuma drew. "I set one monster in defense mode! Go Twin-Headed Wolf!" The huge monster bit through the set card again. "End turn!"

Daniel drew. Looking at the drawn card he frowned. "I summon Elemental Hero Soulman (1400/1200) in attack mode!" A warrior in flowing white robes appeared on the field and slowly lowered down into play. "Attack now! Soul Flash!" It released a blast of energy from its hands. (2400/1200) Twin-headed Wolf howled in pain and then exploded. "End turn."

Daniel- 1500

Akuma- 1100

Akuma drew. "I set one monster face-down and end my turn."

Daniel drew. "I play the magic card Fusion Sage!" He removed his deck from its slot and then took a card out of it. "Now I add one Polymerization card from my deck to my hand!" He put his deck back in place. "Go Soulman! Soul Flash!"

"Reverse card open!" Akuma's set card flipped up. "Dark Vortex forces all monsters on your field into defense mode and allows me to special summon one monster from my hand with three stars or less!" He threw a card down. "Brain Jacker (200/900) in defense mode!" A grey brain appeared on his field.

Daniel growled low in his throat. ("He has three monsters now…") "End turn."

Akuma drew. And started to laugh. "It comes to bring about your end! First I flip summon Mask of Darkness!" (900/400) A yellow wooden mask appeared on the field. "This monsters effect lets me add one trap from my graveyard to my hand." He held up Dark Vortex. "And then I sacrifice these three monsters!" All three of his monsters disappeared in a whirlwind of black air. "Awaken now, the mighty Archfiend Emperor!" (5000/0)

The wind died down and the huge one hundred foot tall monstrosity now towered over all of the skyscrapers. It started to laugh wildly. "Also, one of the monsters I sacrificed was Sangan." (1000/600) "When it is sent from the field to the graveyard I may add one monster with 1500 or less attack from my deck to my hand." He held up a card and slid it into his hand. "Archfiend Emperor, destroy Soulman now! Claw of the Abyss!" The god demon dropped its claw down onto the superhero and blew it apart. "End turn!"

Daniel drew. "I set one monster face-down on the field. Then I play the continuous magic card Mirage of Nightmare! Finally I set three cards face-down on the field. End turn."

Akuma drew. "During my standby phase you draw until you are holding four cards."

Daniel nodded and did so.

Akuma looked at his drawn card. "I play the magic card Force of Darkness! This magic card allows one dark attribute monster in play to deal damage through defense during this turn!" Archfiend Emperor roared loudly. "That means you are doomed! I discard Theban Nightmare!" (1500/500) (6500/0) "Claw of the Abyss!" The giant claw slammed into the set card and blew it apart.

Daniel pointed at one of his set cards. "Emergency Provisions lets me sacrifice magic and trap cards to gain 1000 life points per card!" Mirage of Nightmare, two of his set cards and Skyscraper disappeared in a flash of light. "Also, the monster you destroyed was Friendog. (700/1200) And when this monster is destroyed I pick up one Polymerization card and one Elemental Hero from my graveyard and add it to my hand." He picked up two new cards and added them to his hand.

Daniel- 200

Akuma- 1100

Akuma snarled. "You lucky little…end turn!"

Daniel drew. "Luck had nothing to do with it! And neither will this!" He pointed at his set card. "I reveal The Warrior Returning Alive. This magic card lets me take back one warrior monster from my graveyard." He grabbed a card and slid it into his hand. "This is your end! Monster Reborn lets me revive one monster from my graveyard!" A green armored humanoid appeared in play. "Jinzo returns!" (2400/1500) "From my hand I play Polymerization!" He held the magic card that was his answer to the Archfiend Emperor out in front of him. "Elemental Heroes Cyberman, Gunman, Sparkman, and Clayman now combine their power with Jinzo."

A giant robot appeared on the field behind him. "Super Jinzo (4500/1300) in attack mode!"

"Super Jinzo?" Akuma blinked in surprise. "It won't be enough…"

Daniel slid the last card in his hand into his graveyard. "By activating its special ability…I can send one card from my hand to the graveyard and then remove a monster in graveyard from the game!" He held up Tempest and then it faded. "Guess where those attack points go." (7300/1300)

"Impossible…"

"Super Jinzo, Ultimate Psycho Shockwave!" The machine started up a powerful scream that blew Archfiend Emperor away. "End turn."

Daniel- 200

Akuma- 300

Akuma drew. "You are impressive for a mortal being…but first I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." He slid two cards off of his deck….looked at them…and started to laugh crazily. "But like all mortals, that's just what you are! From my hand…"

Daniel felt a chill run through his body. "Ahran, get ready!" He turned and saw what he knew was going to be played. "Black Lightning…"

"That's right." Akuma snickered. "Black Lightning's special ability lets me discard one fiend from my hand to destroy a monster in play. Half of that monster's attack power will be deducted from your life points!" A bolt of lightning struck Super Jinzo and blew it apart. "And that means…"

Daniel- 0

Akuma- 300

Daniel closed his eyes. "Honestly…I'm impress..e…d…." He collapsed face-first to the ground, unmoving.

Ahran clenched his fist until blood flowed out of it. "You…you monster…"

"Let's stop stating the obvious." Akuma shuffled his deck. "And let's keep going. Are you next?"

Ahran lifted his duel disk. Pulling out a plain set of cards, he focused his will into it and felt it change into his Crystal Dragon deck. "Yes…and I'm all that's left. I will defeat you." Slamming his disk home, he pointed at the dark giant. "Duel!"

_To be continued…_

_Such impossible power…Akuma is amazing. He's defeated Midas King, Kenshin Anderson and Daniel Pilkington, one after another…but I will win. I am the son of Rikuo Amero, and I will win! Akuma, make prayers to whatever gods you worship!_

_Next Episode: Crystal Composite Dragon Summon_

To Rex: And again. Glad you are enjoying it.

To Seeker of the Soul: It's all happening quickly because Midnight is done waiting.

To Sinister: Indeed, let's see how this turns out.

To Raine Vindicare: Sorry buddy.

To john: Sorry.

To Bobbomp&Anime Albino: No comment

To Neo Arkadia: That he does.

To Lance Murdock: That doesn't work, but in my story it does. Bloody hell.


	5. Crystal Composite Dragon Summon

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 5: Crystal Composite Dragon Summon

_Daniel closed his eyes. "Honestly…I'm impress..e…d…." He collapsed face-first to the ground, unmoving._

_Ahran clenched his fist until blood flowed out of it. "You…you monster…"_

"_Let's stop stating the obvious." Akuma shuffled his deck. "And let's keep going. Are you next?"_

_Ahran lifted his duel disk. Pulling out a plain set of cards, he focused his will into it and felt it change into his Crystal Dragon deck. "Yes…and I'm all that's left. I will defeat you." Slamming his disk home, he pointed at the dark giant. "Duel!"_

Ahran- 4000

Akuma- 4000

Ahran drew. "I'm going first. Sapphire Dragon (1900/1600) in attack mode." A sapphire-covered dragon appeared on the field and roared. "End turn!"

Akuma drew. "Then I begin with this monster. Come out now Malice Doll of Demise!" (1600/1700) A wooden doll appeared on the field and started cackling loudly. "Then I play the equipment magic card Mask of Pain." A mask with a metal drill stabbed itself right into the dragon's head. "This card will now destroy your hand. You see, as long as this card is equipped to your monster it cannot attack. During your standby phase you discard one card at random from your hand." He slid a card into his disk. "Now for a continuous magic card. Ectoplasmer! During our end phases we sacrifice one monster on our field to deal half of that monster's attack points in damage to our opponent's life points!" Malice Doll of Demise fell to the ground unmoving. And from its 'corpse' a white spirit launched towards Ahran and slammed into his chest. "End turn."

Ahran- 3200

Akuma- 4000

Ahran drew and watched as one of the cards in his hand disappeared. "I summon another Sapphire Dragon!" (1900/1600) Another sapphire-covered dragon appeared on the field. "Direct attack!" It breathed a blast of energy that slammed into Akuma's chest.

Ahran- 3200

Akuma- 2100

The wolf demon smirked. "Now I sacrifice the mask-equipped dragon with the effect of Ectoplasmer." The non-mask wearing dragon disappeared and a ball of white energy slammed into Akuma's chest.

Ahran- 3200

Akuma- 1150

Akuma drew. "The monster wearing Mask of Pain cannot be sacrificed." Malice Doll of Demise appeared on his field. "Malice Doll of Demise, when sacrificed to a continuous magic card, is special summoned to the field during my standby phase." Taking a card from his hand, Akuma placed it face-down onto his disk. "I set one monster face-down and end my turn." Malice Doll of Demise collapsed in on itself and energy slammed into Ahran's body.

Ahran- 2400

Akuma- 1150

Ahran drew and a single card in his hand disappeared. "I…" ("He has me stuck…") Sliding a card into his disk, he sighed. "End turn."

Akuma drew and Malice Doll of Demise reappeared. "Now I flip summon Brain Jacker (200/900) and seize control of Sapphire Dragon." The crystal dragon flew over to his field. "I sacrifice Malice Doll of Demise to call upon Summoned Skull!" (2500/1200) A huge muscular demon appeared on the field and roared. "This is the end! Demon Thunder!" Lightning exploded from the monster's body and headed towards the wolf demon. "It's over for you boy!"

"Reverse card open!" Ahran's face-down card flipped up. "Crystal Dice!" A crystal die popped out of the card and started bounce around. "Depending on the number I get it will decide what effect I get!" It landed on a six. "Alright! I can now send two cards on your field to the graveyard!" Summoned Skull and Ectoplasmer disappeared. "Heh…now you're stuck."

Akuma grimaced. "End turn."

Ahran drew. "Since I don't control Sapphire Dragon I have no need to worry about losing my hand cards!" He snapped up a card. "I activate Soul Exchange!" Sapphire Dragon disappeared. "I sacrifice Sapphire Dragon to special summon Crystal Dragon Rider (1900/1200) to the field!" A sapphire-colored dragon with a knight riding on it appeared on the field. "This monster can't attack because of Soul Exchange…so I sacrifice this monster to special summon Crystal Dragon (2750/2750) from my deck to the field!" The knight disappeared and the dragon grew gigantic, roaring in true anger at the giant. "Finally I set one card face-down on the field. End turn."

Akuma drew. "Now I play the Shallow Grave magic card to force us both to special summon one monster from our graveyard to the field in face-down defense mode." A face-down monster appeared on the field.

Ahran caught a card that was spat out of his deck and slapped it face-down. "Then I set this monster face-down."

Akuma placed a card face-down on his disk and then slid a card into his disk. "I set a monster face-down and a magic/trap face-down. End turn."

Ahran drew. "I play Swords of Revealing Light!" Green glowing swords of light slammed down onto the field. "This card will prevent you from attacking for three turns and it will force your face-down monsters face-up!"

Both of Akuma's monsters revealed themselves. The first was Brain Jacker, and the other was a huge one-eyed monster. "Opticlops (1800/1700) is flipped up. Brain Jacker's special ability steals your Crystal Dragon!" The grey brain monster launched up and latched itself onto the head of the sapphire monster. It shuddered and then floated over to Akuma's field.

Ahran growled. "I reveal my face-down Crystal Dragon!" (2750/2750) The face-down card turned into a huge emerald-colored version the monster that was being controlled by Akuma. "Also, I play the equipment magic card Light's Blessing! The attack of one monster with a crystal name in its title rises by 500!" (3250/2750) "Crystal Dragon, attack your brother! Don't let it stay under this monster's control! Crystal Burst!" The dragon's jaws twitched a couple of times in anger and then it released a beam of emerald energy that hurtled towards the Crystal Dragon that stood over on Akuma's field with red eyes.

"Reveal Dark Vortex!" Akuma's face-down card flipped up. "This trap will negate your attack and let me special summon one level three or lower monster from my hand to the field. However, since I have no such monster all that happens is that your attack is negated!" A hole appeared in the sky and sucked up the blast of energy.

Ahran closed his eyes and frowned. "End turn."

Akuma drew. "I set a monster face-down and switch Crystal Dragon into defense mode." The sapphire dragon folded its wings in on itself and a card appeared alongside it.

Ahran drew and light suffused him. "The effect of Brain Jacker raises my life points by 500."

Ahran- 2900

Akuma- 1150

He held the card up and smirked. "I still have Swords of Revealing Light for two more turns. Crystal Dragon, attack Opticlops!" It opened its jaws and released a blast of sapphire energy that shattered the Cyclops. "Now I set a card face-down and end my turn."

Akuma drew. He looked at the drawn card and smirked coldly. "I have pulled it…"

Ahran ground his teeth tightly. ("It must be the Archfiend Emperor…")

Akuma slid a card into his disk. "I activate Undead Servitude. This magic card lets me special summon one monster from your graveyard to the field in defense mode." A crouching Sapphire Dragon appeared on his field. "Are you ready to face the end of it all? Your little dragons are so weak…compared to him. I sacrifice these three monsters…" All three of his monsters disappeared into a tornado of black wind. "I sacrifice these three monsters to summon Archfiend Emperor!" (5000/0) The tornado kept going and smashed the Swords of Revealing Light. "When summoned this monster destroys all cards in play that have light in their title."

Ahran paled as his defense was destroyed, as was his Light's Blessing equipment magic card.

The tornado cleared to reveal the huge hundred foot tall monster capable of destroying light itself. "Archfiend Emperor…there is your prey! Attack Crystal Dragon with Claw of the Abyss!" It drove its claw right into the dragon's chest and blew it apart. "End turn."

Ahran- 650

Akuma- 1150

Ahran closed his eyes and felt the light that was his soul essence starting to fade. ("In its prescense a being of light such as me cannot stand against this kind of darkness…") He drew. ("I can't get up…I'm all that's left!") "I set one monster face-down and end my turn!"

Akuma drew. "I summon Protector of the Sanctuary (1100/1900) in attack mode." A neon outline appeared on his field. "Archfiend Emperor, attack now with Claw of the Abyss!" Its claw dove down and crushed the set card.

"Magician of Faith's special ability lets me add one magic card from my graveyard to my hand!" Ahran removed Swords of Revealing Light from his graveyard and held it up before turning it to face himself.

Akuma pointed. "Protector, attack with Punch of Doom!" The neon outline charged…and slammed face-first into a glowing barrier of light.

"Reveal Mirror Force!" A shotgun blast of energy hit the neon outline in the face and blew it up. And then the blast hit the Archfiend Emperor, but nothing happened. "This trap will negate your attack and destroy all attack mode monsters you have in play." He drew. "I play Pot of Greed!" He drew two cards. "I set one card face-down and play Swords of Revealing Light!" The glowing green swords stabbed into Archfiend Emperor's body, as if they hated its very prescense. "And now I play Card of Sanctity." They both drew six cards. "Now I set a monster face-down and end my turn."

Akuma drew. "I play the magic card Hellish Ordeal." Archfiend Emperor started to laugh maniacally and was dragged deep into the ground. "During my second standby phase from this turn my monster will be normal summoned back to the field with 2000 extra attack points. Also, it will be treated as if it was tribute summoned."

Ahran looked at his Swords of Revealing Light. ("They won't last…")

Akuma removed three cards from his graveyard. "I remove three demons from my graveyard to special summon Dark Necrofear (2200/2800) to the field." A blue-skinned vampire appeared on the field in a crouching position. He took another card and placed it down next to Dark Necrofear. "Then I summon Sangan (1000/600) in defense mode." A three-eyed furry demon appeared on the field. "Also I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Ahran drew. "I play Dian Keto the Cure Master!" Light flowed around him. "My life points rise by 1000."

Ahran- 1650

Akuma- 1150

As he looked his hand over Ahran lifted his head and frowned. ("Akuma's deck revolves around disrupting the enemy and getting out Archfiend Emperor. If I remember correctly…his deck also runs the Deck Destruction Virus trap card. That must be the card he set face-down…he's trying to trick me.") The wolf demon's lips lifted slightly. "I play the magic card Premature Burial. At the cost of 800 life points I special summon one monster from my graveyard to play!" The earth in front of him churned and a huge sapphire-colored head rose up out of the ground. "I revive Crystal Dragon."

Ahran- 850

Akuma- 1150

Akuma sneered. ("That's right…muster your forces to attack me. When you do there will be a big surprise waiting…")

Ahran pointed at his two monsters. "I sacrifice my Crystal Dragon and my face-down Sapphire Dragon to summon…Crystal Composite Dragon!" (3000/2500) A huge glittering dragon with an opaque sapphire cover over it body. "Attack Dark Necrofear now! Geothermal Crusher!" It opened its jaws and released a torrent of sapphire flame that hit the vampire and blew it apart. "And its special ability negates the effect of all monsters that it destroys as a result of battle! End turn."

Akuma drew. "I set one monster face-down and one card face-down." He glowered as the cards appeared on the field. "End turn."

Ahran drew. "Here's my only chance…" He held up a card. "I play Monster Reborn to revive a Crystal Dragon!" (2750/2750) The giant emerald dragon appeared on the field and roared. "Now I summon Light Chanter!" (1200/1000) A woman in golden robes appeared on the field and started to chant. "This monster's special ability raises the attack points of all light attribute monsters on my field by 200 points!" (1400/1000) (2950/2750) (3200/2500) "Crystal Composite Dragon, attack Sangan! Geothermal Crusher!" The dragon snarled and sprayed the fiend with energy, shattering it.

"Go Crystal Dragon, Crystal Burst!" The emerald dragon followed up right behind its sibling, spraying the set monster with energy and disintegrating it.

Akuma tapped a button on his disk. "I activate Deck Destruction Virus!" The card flipped up…but it didn't activate. "What?"

Ahran smirked and held up a finger. "Crystal Composite Dragon prevents you from activating trap cards during the battle phase."

The card flipped down and Akuma drew one card. "Dark Mimic's special ability lets me draw one card."

Ahran pointed at him. "It doesn't matter! This duel is over! Light Chanter, direct attack!" The spellcaster chanted and released a beam of energy from her hands that hurtled towards Akuma.

"Kuriboh's special ability lets me discard to take your damage to zero!" The giant discarded a card and a little furball appeared on the field just in time to catch the blast in the face.

Ahran clenched his fist angrily. "I end my turn."

Akuma drew. And he started to laugh. A hole opened up in the ground and the huge form of Archfiend Emperor rose up and roared to the now fully dark sky. (7000/0)

Ahran grimaced as his Swords of Revealing Light shattered.

Akuma pointed at the Crystal Composite Dragon. "Feel your end! Claw of the Abyss!" It snapped its claw back and then hurtled it towards the crystalline monster angrily.

"Reverse card open! Negate Attack!" One of Ahran's face-down cards flipped up and a field of energy enveloped his field just in time to stop the attack. "Your battle phase ends."

Akuma placed a card face-down onto his disk. "I set one monster face-down and then I set one card face-down on the field. End turn."

Ahran frowned and drew. ("Nothing I have can match the attack power of Archfiend Emperor. So for now I'll have to play it safe.") "I switch my monsters into defense mode." All three of his monsters crouched down. "I set one card face-down and then a monster. End turn."

Akuma drew. "A cold wind…can you feel it boy? It is an omen of your destruction." He closed his eyes. "And so you are reaching the end of your life. I can feel your soul…it is one of light and health. Purity…" He spat onto the ground. "…is for those that aren't worthy of feeling the strength of the darkness! Let me cleanse away your light and show you the darkness…"

Ahran felt his hackles rise and he growled deep in his throat.

"Archfiend Emperor, attack Crystal Composite Dragon with Claw of the Abyss!" The huge demon's claw dropped down and pierced right into the dragon's chest, blowing it apart. "End turn."

Ahran drew. "For now I'll end my turn."

Akuma drew. "Now I flip up Mask of Darkness." (900/400) A yellow wooden mask appeared on his field. "When flipped this monster lets me take one trap card from my graveyard and add it to my hand." He held up Dark Vortex, and then pointed at his Mask of Darkness. It was surrounded by a whirlwind that consumed it instantly. "I sacrifice my monster to summon Beast of Talwar." (2400/2150) A huge demon holding a pair of long scimitars appeared on the field. "Attack Light Chanter now!" The demon slashed through the spellcaster.

Ahran caught a card that was spat out of his graveyard. "The special ability of Light Chanter activates when it is destroyed as a result of battle. I take one magic card that increases life points from my graveyard and add it to my hand." He slid the new card into his hand.

Akuma pointed at the Crystal Dragon. "Claw of the Abyss!" The demon's claw slashed through the dragon and blew it apart. "Now I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Ahran drew. "I play Dian Keto the Cure Master to raise my life points by 1000." Light shimmered around him. "Now I end my turn."

Ahran- 1850

Akuma- 1150

Akuma drew. ("Your strategy…") He sneered and slid a card into his graveyard. "I discard Possessed Dark Soul (1200/800) to raise the attack of Archfiend Emperor by 1200." (8200/0) "Now it's over! Claw of the Abyss!" The demon fell towards Ahran.

"Reverse card open!" Ahran pointed at one of his set cards.

Akuma saw what the card was and a dark laughter started to rumble out from his lips.

Ahran didn't let himself get distracted. "The effect of Draining Shield raises my life points by your monster's attack points. Also, your attack is negated." A pillar of light fell around him and he felt his energy returning.

Akuma continued to laugh as the pillar turned black.

Ahran's hair whipped around him and he looked around in confusion. "What?"

"Boy." Akuma said calmly.

Ahran's eyes looked at the giant's field…and he stared in disbelief. "That card…"

"Right…" Akuma pointed at his now face-up card. "Bad Reaction to Simochi activates when you would gain life points. That life point gain turns into life point loss." He clenched his fist and then pointed at Ahran. "Being of light…you wanted to gain the power of Archfiend Emperor? Well here it is!"

The energy slammed right into Ahran's body, ripping pained screams from his mouth.

Ahran- 0

Akuma- 1150

Rikuo's eyes snapped open and his ears immediately perked up. ("Something's wrong…there's an energy disturbance…") Taking a moment to curse himself for choosing today to sleep, he immediately noticed that Ichigo wasn't around. ("Little bastard is probably the one who is causing the disturbance.") He leapt to his feet and grabbed his duffel bag. ("If Eri is in danger then whoever is responsible with suffer for it.")

Akuma watched as the pillar finally died out, letting Ahran's body to collapse to the ground. "The end." He walked over and looked at his two newest kills. "Hm…a pair of wolf demons. Neither were that terrifying, but I will admit the first one was close to defeating me."

A rage-filled howl reached his ears and he turned to find a shadowed form watching him in the night. Crimson eyes were locked onto him. "And what's this? Another demon that wants to die?"

Rikuo snarled darkly. "You bastard…" His disk slid into place. "I'll kill you!"

Akuma closed his eyes and his deck shimmered with a dim grey light. "You seem stronger than the others. So I'll use some of the energy I have gathered from these mortals to fuel my deck's power." He shuffled his cards and slammed his deck home. "What is your name?"

"Rikuo Amero…" The wolf demon drew. "Your executioner…."

_To be continued…_

_Ugh…where am I? Hey…is that Rikuo? Damn…he looks pissed. Oh man, he's dueling in a darkness game? I gotta figure out how to help him!_

_Next Episode: Gate of Souls_

To generic reviewer: What a refreshingly hopeless attitude.

To G.O.T. Nick: Rikuo's pissed…so Akuma might meet his end right here and now.

To Hogwarts-Knight: It's no problem buddy. I understand completely.

To Neo Arkadia: You might just be right.

To Sinister: Akuma is tough.

To wolfy: Err….you kind of get to see Ahran duel…

To Dais: Sorry buddy, they couldn't. Rikuo's up though…

To Seeker of the Soul: Interesting, no?

To Gryphinwyrm: Naw, the E-Heroes tried this fight….

To Adriel: Dude……….yes they did.

To falcon demon general: Like freaking flies…like freaking flies…

To Lance Murdock: Akuma is a spirit straight from Hell.

To Rex: I don't know.

To john: Nooope….no it cannot.

To Bobbomp: Jeebus cannot save you now.

To Anime Albino: Close to dead….


	6. Gate of Souls

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 6: Gate of Souls

_Rikuo snarled darkly. "You bastard…" His disk slid into place. "I'll kill you!"_

_Akuma closed his eyes and his deck shimmered with a dim grey light. "You seem stronger than the others. So I'll use some of the energy I have gathered from these mortals to fuel my deck's power." He shuffled his cards and slammed his deck home. "What is your name?"_

"_Rikuo Amero…" The wolf demon drew. "Your executioner…."_

Rikuo- 4000

Akuma- 4000

Rikuo snarled loudly and fanned his hand out. ("He must be good to have defeated Daniel…") Taking a card from his hand, he slid it into his disk. "I set one card face-down and one monster face-down. End turn."

Akuma drew. "I summon Hell Soldier!" (1200/1000) A burly demon in dark grey armor appeared on the field. "Attack the set monster now!" It slammed its sword down onto the set monster. "I've got you now!"

"Are you sure about that?" Rikuo tapped a button on his disk and his face-down card flipped up. "Reverse card open! Thunder Break Armor!" Lightning crashed into his set monster. "This card will equip to one face-down monster on my field!" Lightning crackled along the card's form. "It shields the set monster in an energy shield that is treated as a monster with a defense of 2000!"

Hell Soldier cried out in surprise as the shield exploded and sent it flying back to Akuma's field.

Akuma frowned. "I may lose life points, but when Hell Soldier is treated to damage through battle, that damage is also dealt to you!" He slammed a card into his disk. "I also set one card face-down. End turn."

Rikuo- 3200

Akuma- 3200

Rikuo drew. "Thunder Break Armor special ability number two! I may sacrifice it to deal you 500 life points of damage!" The shield arched across the field into Akuma's body.

Rikuo- 3200

Akuma- 2700

Akuma brushed off his gi. "Barely worthy of my time…"

Rikuo looked at his drawn card and then he sneered. "Let me show you god."

"God?" Akuma narrowed his eyes.

Midnight's eyes widened. ("Fenrir…")

Rikuo threw a card down onto his disk. "I summon White Cyber Wolf (1000/1800) in attack mode!" A white armored robotic wolf appeared on his field. "This card's special ability lets me special summon Black Cyber Wolf (1800/1000) from my deck!" A black armored robotic wolf appeared on the field.

"You plan to summon a God Card?" Akuma snickered. "You have already summoned for this turn."

Rikuo continued to hold the card off to his side. "You're assuming far too much about my abilities. Unlike your previous opponents…I am in a league beyond your experience."

"What is this?" The dark giant cracked his knuckles. "You would dare to presume that I'm some kind of normal duelist? Do you know who you speak to?" His fist pounded into his chest. "I have suffered the pains of the hells! It is a horrid place…but with its training I am greater than any mortal!"

"Greater than any mortal?" Rikuo closed his eyes and smiled. "I'm not a mortal. I…am…God!" His left hand moved the held card to his middle and pinky fingers, and then he took another card from his hand and slid it into his disk. "I activate Emergence from the Land of the Dead!"

"Emergence from the Land of the Dead?" Akuma's eyes widened. "That card…"

"Right." Rikuo took the card he had been holding and slid it into his graveyard. "By discarding one card from my hand I can take one monster from my graveyard and normal summon it." He caught the very same card and held it up. "Now face it…the power of the Destroyer of Gods!" His fingers pointed at his three monsters. "I sacrifice these three…" They dissipated into mist. "And summon Fenrir!" A tornado of black fire exploded out of the ground at his feet and stretched high into the sky. When the fire cleared a huge black wolf stood on his field. It howled so loudly that the earth around them cracked. "The slayer of the divine has been summoned!" (4000/4000)

Akuma grimaced and pointed at his set card. "I activate Strenuous Sacrifice!" His face-down card flipped up and chains exploded out of the ground to bind Fenrir. "This trap card activates when you tribute summon for a monster. That monster may not attack for the rest of this game."

Rikuo tapped the side of his head. "Oh really?" He slid a card into his disk. "Magic Purge says otherwise!" A blast of white heat washed over the field and the chains shattered. "All floating effects are now wiped away! Fenrir, attack Hell Soldier now! Black Inferno's Roar!" The wolf sprayed the hell warrior with black fire, instantly melting it away. "And that's the end."

Rikuo- 3200

Akuma- 2700

Akuma held up a card. "The power of Kuriboh says differently…" He discarded the card into his graveyard. "All that lovely life point damage is now zero."

Rikuo looked down at his hand and slid the remaining card into it. "I set this card face-down and end my turn."

Akuma glowered up at Fenrir. "A mighty god…but not mighty enough. It's my turn now! Draw!" He drew and held the card up to his eyes. "Tell me…can your god beat mine?"

Rikuo smiled. "Oh it can. Fenrir can defeat any other God Card…."

"Not this one. I know enough about the effects of Fenrir. Unlike most God Cards, it must have a monster sacrifice to be immune to trap cards for that turn. Also, when you discard a card from your hand or summon it one Divine Beast monster in play will be destroyed and its attack will be added to Fenrir's. The power to slay any god monster…but what happens when its opponent isn't a god? What happens when it is the devil itself?" He held up a card. "I activate Pot of Greed!" He drew two cards. "Now I activate the magic card Hand Tribute. This lets me sacrifice monsters from my hand to normal summon a monster. So I send three demons from my hand to the graveyard…" A black tornado of air exploded out of the ground and stretched one hundred feet into the air. "And summon Archfiend Emperor!" (5000/0) The tornado faded to reveal the huge demon giant in all its dark glory. "Archfiend Emperor, crush his Fenrir now!"

Rikuo's eyes widened. ("That monster is a demon type….so therefore Fenrir's last special ability won't work.")

"Claw of the Abyss!" The hundred foot tall demon stabbed its claws into the Fenrir, the god fading like mist.

Rikuo- 2200

Akuma- 2700

Rikuo snarled and pointed at his set card. "Reveal Soul Line! This trap card lets me pay 1000 life points to special summon a level four monster from my deck to the field!" He removed the top card of his deck and threw it down. A squat monster made of gears appeared on his field. "Gear Golem the Moving Fortress (800/2200) in defense mode."

Rikuo- 1200

Akuma- 2700

Akuma growled darkly. ("He may have a way to overcome the power of Archfiend…so I had best reinforce its attack.") "I discard Dark Ruler Hades (2450/1600) to raise Archfiend Emperor's attack power by that amount!" (7450/0) "End turn."

Rikuo drew. ("In my current situation I'm trapped with no method to hold against him…except for this…") He smirked slightly. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." He slid two cards off of his deck and was pleased by what he saw. ("My combo can be done…the combo to create Steel Fenrir…") "I set one card face-down and play the magic card Clockwork Gear Shift. This magic card requires that I sacrifice a monster with either Clockwork or Gear in its title. Gear Golem is sacrificed!" The defense monster faded. "And now I special summon Super Toy Knight (3000/3000) from my fusion deck to the field for one turn." A huge platinum windup knight appeared on the field in a crouching position. "End turn."

Akuma drew. "You will lose this duel by my hand. I set one card face-down and order my monster to attack Super Toy Knight! Claw of the Abyss!" The demon's claw slammed into Super Toy Knight and blew it into little tiny gear pieces.

Rikuo barely flinched as pieces of his machine flew past him. "Reveal face-down card." When his card flipped up a phantom Super Toy Knight appeared floating over him. "Ghosts of the Past allow me to activate it during the turn that a monster on my field is destroyed as a result of battle. I discard one card from my deck for every level star of the destroyed monster." He snapped eight cards off of his deck, looked at them, and smirked. ("There they are…") "These cards go to the graveyard." He slid the small stack into his graveyard slot. "Now the special ability of Ghosts of the Past lets me draw one card for every three monsters in the discarded eight. Since five were discarded I only draw one card." The top card left his deck and he sneered at it. ("Good…it's all falling into place.")

Akuma growled. "End turn."

Rikuo drew. ("I have two cards…but they will be enough to win this duel.") "I play the magic card Magician's Seal. This magic card lets me select one magic card from my deck and add it to my hand. However, this card cannot be activated for the next two turns." He held the chosen card up. "Card of Demise…" Taking the other card from his hand he placed it face-down onto his disk. "I set one monster face-down. End turn."

Akuma drew. "Once I draw a monster that I can summon you will die. Until then I discard Summoned Skull to raise the attack of Archfiend Emperor." (9950/0) "Claw of the Abyss!" The giant's claw fell onto the set card and blew it apart.

Rikuo picked up X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) from his disk and slid it into his graveyard. "Is that all?"

Akuma nodded.

Rikuo glanced at his deck. ("There's still two more turns to go before I can try to use my true killing attack.") He drew and without more than a passing glance placed the card onto his disk. "I set one monster face-down. End turn."

Akuma drew. "I attack with Archfiend Emperor!" The demon dropped its claw onto the set monster and shattered it.

Rikuo frowned. "Quicksilver Orb (0/0) would have let me play a monster from my hand, but because my only hand card is Card of Demise there is no creature to summon."

Akuma coldly sneered. "My dear mortal…you think that magic card will be your save? You are beyond wrong." He pointed at his set card. "I'm tired of playing with you. Reveal Mind Crush!"

"Shit…." Rikuo looked at Card of Demise.

Akuma pointed at the wolf demon. "In your hand you hold Card of Demise. Now if you have that card Mind Crush forces your discard it."

Rikuo slid the magic card into his graveyard.

Akuma slid a card into his disk. "I set a card face-down. My turn is complete."

Rikuo clenched his teeth…and then smirked. "Screw it, draw or die!" He drew. "Card of Sanctity forces us both draw until we are holding six cards in our hands!" They both drew six cards. "And that isn't all…because now I have my strategy set. In this turn your monster will be destroyed and with it most of your life points!"

"My monster has attack strength of 9950." Akuma chuckled. "So try your luck."

Rikuo's hand held over his six cards. "I'd be glad to. But first I need the help of Monster Reborn!" Super Toy Knight appeared on the field. "This is it…I play Nanite Infusion!" Super Toy Knight started to glow green. "From my hand I play Monster Reincarnation! By discarding Repayment of Losses not only do I get to draw a card but I also pick up Fenrir!" He drew and with the same fingers picked up the God Card. "The stage is nearly set! Super Toy Knight, break down into your original pieces!"

The machine exploded into pieces…and those pieces formed a Bronze Windup Knight (500/500), a Silver Windup Knight (1000/1000), and a Gold Windup Knight. (1500/1500) All three of the monsters were surrounded by a green glow.

Akuma frowned. "Sacrifices for Fenrir? How pitiful…"

Rikuo pointed at the three monsters. "I sacrifice these three to Fenrir! Return now!" The giant wolf appeared on the field and howled. "Nanite Infusion transforms the equipped monster and anything it is sacrificed to into a powerful bio-weapon! As such, the attack of the monsters sacrificed to summon Fenrir is added to its attack power!" (7000/4000) Fenrir snarled and black flames leapt along its body.

Akuma was about to say something…but he felt it. It was a pulse…that was coming from Rikuo's hand. "What is that?"

"It is the power of Fenrir's ultimate potential." Rikuo snapped a card into his disk. "Metal Attack Reinforcement Armor!" Steel armor appeared all over Fenrir's body. "This card raises its attack power by 500! Also, when it attacks a monster it gains 2000 attack points for the fight!" (7500/4000)

Akuma waved a finger in the air chidingly. "That's 450 points too short to match my…"

Rikuo pointed at Fenrir. "I sacrifice Fenrir!" The wolf god disappeared in a flash of energy. "I have done all of the required actions for this…I have summoned Fenrir. I have used Nanite Infusion on it, and I have given it Metal Attack Reinforcement Armor." The sky started to part and light rained down onto the field. "Fenrir, show your true god form!"

"True god form?" Akuma watched as a gold-covered form lowered onto the field.

Rikuo sneered. "Fenrir can slay a god, but such power comes with the loss of its abilities that make a god a god…but now it had returned to its full power!" The gold light disappeared in an explosion of black energy. "Face it…" Fenrir threw back its head and howled, the sky thundering in chorus with it. "Fenrir the Eater of the Moon!" (10000/5000)

"10000?" Akuma clenched his fist. "How can it have that much attack power?"

"Fenrir's special ability is that if it is the only attacking monster on my field during the turn that it is summoned that its attack power will be doubled!" Rikuo pointed at the Archfiend Emperor. "Now feel my rage! Black Inferno's Roar!" Fenrir released a beam of black energy that disintegrated the Archfiend Emperor instantly.

Rikuo- 1200

Akuma- 2650

Akuma was nearly thrown backwards, but he held against the blast. "Reveal…" The backlash of the attack faded. "Dark Grave!" A black coffin rose up out of the ground. "This trap card activates when a monster on my field is destroyed as a result of battle. I may discard one card from my hand to normal summon it to the field." The coffin exploded and Archfiend Emperor reappeared in play. (5000/0)

Rikuo slid his two remaining cards into his disk. "I set these two cards face-down on the field. End turn." (5000/5000)

Akuma drew slowly. "You are powerful indeed…but you are mistaken if you think that a force of darkness such as Fenrir can defeat me." He slid a card into his disk. "I shall show you that darkness cannot harm me. For I am immune to its touch." Something began to form on his field. "Tell me something mortal…do you ever have nightmares? The kind that leave you sweating at night? The kind where you wished that someone would comfort you?"

"Keh." Rikuo sneered. "I stopped fearing the dark long ago."

"Then let me make your last few minutes of life be an eye-opening experience for you." The structure finished forming. It was a huge bone circle on bone pedestals. And within the circle was a swirling vortex of white. "Gate of Souls has been activated…and now I summon Soul Keeper." (1000/1000) An old man with a key-ring around his waist appeared on the field. "Soul Keeper's special ability allows me to discard one card from my hand to give one monster on my field a Soul token." White smoke flowed around Archfiend Emperor. He drew one card. "Repayment of Losses…just like you. This is your end…Gate of Souls special ability…allows me to discard my whole hand to make it work. However, first I set one card face-down on the field." A card shimmered into existence in front of him.

Rikuo frowned at the Gate of Souls. ("What is this power I sense…?")

Akuma slid his four remaining cards into the graveyard. "Gate of Soul activates now. For it to work I must first discard a single card to turn it on for this turn. Then I may discard one card from my hand. For every card I discard one card in play will be destroyed!"

Rikuo pointed at one of his set cards. "Reveal Effect Shield! This quickplay…." Effect Shield shattered. "What?"

"Surprised?" Akuma sneered as his Soul Keeper faded away. "I may sacrifice Soul Keeper and my battle phase to prevent you from activating cards in response to Gate of Souls."

Rikuo stared in horror as Fenrir and his face-down blew apart. "No…"

"I'm not done yet!" Akuma pointed at his Archfiend Emperor. "Gate of Souls requires that I sacrifice all cards I have in play but it, however…" The white mist around the demon giant faded. "The Soul token protected my monster from death. Also, my face-down card activates itself in response to its destruction!" Archfiend Emperor roared. "Demon's Rage activates when destroyed. It allows one demon monster in play to attack right now!" Archfiend Emperor lifted its claw. "Farewell mortal…"

Rikuo growled. ("No way…had he beaten me…")

* * *

"_Sorry kid, but…" Snake felt his arms starting to collapse. "It's the end for us. Now get those two out of here!"_

_King of Swords looked up at the rocks and frowned. "This is where I die? So be it, then this is where I die…."_

_Lord of Knives looked upon Ichigo and bowed his head. "Thank you for treating us as friends…thank you for trusting us. Ichigo Pilkington…the greatest Cyber Shadow of them all."_

"_Kenshin…I chose the wrong path…you must fight this darkness with light. The power of earth wasn't enough…please…" He turned to face Akuma. "Bring your final blow!"_

_It's my entire fault that they died. Snake, Lord of Knives…everyone! Why did they have to suffer for my stupid move?_

_**There's no time for that! Rikuo's about to lose…and then Akuma is going after Eri and the others!**_

_Screw you…I'm not going to screw up this situation._

_**You won't save Eri?**_

_No._

_**Then forget you.**_

_Excuse me?_

_**You possess the power to help them, but you refuse to because you're afraid? Then you are no use to me. Begone Dark Halo.**_

_You would dare to push me out?_

_**Dare? I just did.

* * *

**_

Rikuo didn't flinch as the claw of the Archfiend Emperor slammed down on top of him. He felt pain…and then the feeling he knew too well…the pain of one's soul being separated from their body.

Akuma watched the field fade away and smirked as Rikuo dropped face-first to the ground. "I win again. That leaves five down…and a bunch of easy to kill weaklings to go."

Rikuo- 0

Akuma- 2650

* * *

**_Well I forced the Dark Halo away…but now what do I do? This guy's too tough to take on with a normal deck…and I don't have the Cyber Shadows anymore. Wait…didn't Midas say something about light fighting darkness? Maybe that was the problem…you have to fight darkness with light. But that leads me to a whole new problem…what deck types can I get that can defeat darkness?_**

_Perhaps you are looking at this in the wrong way Ichigo._

_**GAH! Who are you?**_

_You don't recognize the cute face?_

_**You're me? But…I'm me! HOW ARE YOU IN HERE ANYWAY?**_

_Believe it or not, I'm another part of your personality. A part born from when you received the little mistake on the part of Luna._

_**You mean when Luna decided to turn me into a girl at night. Yeah, it was loads of family fun.**_

_Luna didn't mean to do that to you. But anyway…there is an answer in here._

_**An answer huh? And what kind of answer is that?**_

_The deck that can defeat Akuma's darkness. A shining power that will lead the way. A new team of agents…_

_**A new team of agents? You're kidding me…**_

_No…they rest in your soul. It is the power that has formed from your memories of the Cyber Shadows. It is the power of your Soul Deck evolved._

_**How do I access it then?**_

_All you have to do is believe.

* * *

_

Akuma started to walk away. "It's time to find the next kill…"

"No…stop…"

The giant stopped and glanced behind him to see Ahran's body start to stand up. "And you are?"

"Ichigo Pilkington…the one and only…" The half demon stumbled to his feet. ("What did Ahran do our body while I was out anyway? It feels like he put it through a ten hour workout.")

Akuma frowned. ("The Dark Halo incarnate? What is he doing here?")

Ichigo looked at the deck in his disk. ("The shining power in my soul…") He felt the deck change itself. ("Let's hope this works.") "I challenge you Akuma."

"Very well." The giant shuffled his deck and slid it into place. "I'll run you over."

Ichigo smiled slightly. "Maybe…but then again…I've beaten everyone who you've beaten. So technically, I'm better then all of them."

"As am I."

They both stood against each other…and a light wind blew through their hair. "Duel!"

Ichigo- 4000

Akuma- 4000

_To be continued…_

_This is Ichigo Pilkington. Anyway, it's on now Akuma! You've stolen the soul of my father, my asshole father-in-law, Kenshin, Ahran…and you killed Professor King. It's unforgivable! You will face my full wrath! Shining power, show me what you are now! Draw!_

_Next Episode: Shining Force Released!_

To Bobbomp: Well, we're about to find out whether Ichigo will fall or not.

To Anime Albino: Not really. His soul is gone, but his body is alive.

To Adriel: Nope, the Eternal Death duel was only in chapter one. How else would these guys have been using Monster Reborn and the like?

To Gryphinwyrm: Yeah, I got it.

To Neo Arkadia: That's right, Archfiend Emperor was used way back when during the duel between the creepy vampire guys and CJ/Rebecca.

To Rex: We'll see that, won't we?

To Sinister: You're no fun. Midas is cool.

To G.O.T. Nick: Let me ask you something….is it still funny? Oh, and did you get my email?

To Hogwarts-Knight: Of course Archfiend Emperor has too much power. He's scary crap. And sure, submit away.


	7. Shining Force Unleashed! Part 1

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 7: Shining Force Unleashed!

_Ichigo looked at the deck in his disk. ("The shining power in my soul…") He felt the deck change itself. ("Let's hope this works.") "I challenge you Akuma."_

"_Very well." The giant shuffled his deck and slid it into place. "I'll run you over."_

_Ichigo smiled slightly. "Maybe…but then again…I've beaten everyone who you've beaten. So technically, I'm better then all of them."_

"_As am I."_

_They both stood against each other…and a light wind blew through their hair. "Duel!"_

_Ichigo- 4000_

_Akuma- 4000

* * *

_

Eri sat and looked out the window of the clinic. "Ahran…" She had seen Fenrir's descent…and now prayed that her father would show up. ("Please…be alright.")

Ryu looked over the cards of his deck. ("If you fall Amero…then I'll be sure to pick up your slack. I can't lose…because there is no one else around here who can match this Akuma character apparently…")

Kenshin was lying silently on a bed alongside Midas King.

Adriel looked through his deck. ("Water Dragon…Drill Dragon…Grand Emperor Dragon…")

Krieger closed his eyes and prayed that Rikuo had won. ("Please mister Rikuo…")

* * *

Wind blew across the fields of the night…

Daniel and Rikuo were collapsed alongside each other, unmoving. They looked exactly the same, except that one had red hair and one had black.

Ichigo looked over at his father and father-in-law. ("Dad…Rikuo…") He clenched his fist, the night hiding his dirtied face. "I…won't forgive you!"

Akuma stood calmly, his red eyes glowing in the night. "I don't expect forgiveness. Let us begin then." He drew. ("This boy expects my fiends…") He smirked. ("It doesn't matter…because this won't be the deck that you expect.") Taking a card from his hand he placed it down onto his disk. "I set one monster face-down and end my turn."

Ichigo drew. ("This shining power in my soul. Let it be enough.") He slid the new card into his hand and then fanned it out. His eyes glanced over the cards and he looked thoughtful for a moment. "Your face-down monster is most likely a trap."

"Perhaps, but what can you do about it?" Akuma crossed his broad arms across his chest. "You must attack to get to me."

"Oh really?" Ichigo took a card from his hand, looked at the text, and smirked. "Actually…I'm about to get right around your defense." He threw it down and a humanoid form appeared on his field. It wore a gold bodysuit and a silver visor over its face. "Shining Force-Hyperion (1600/1400) in attack mode!" The warrior struck a pose and little motes of light twirled around its form.

Akuma chortled darkly. ("Come and attack then…")

"Hyperion, attack his life points directly! Luminous Slasher!" It pointed a hand at Akuma, the hand pretending to be a finger. _"Bang."_ A bullet of light flew from its finger and slammed right into the giant's chest. "Hyperion can attack your life points directly. All life point damage it does is cut in half."

Ichigo- 4000

Akuma- 3200

Akuma clutched at his chest and growled darkly from his throat. "You little…" Wisps of smoke rose up from the spot where the light had hit him.

Ichigo smirked slightly. "What's wrong? That shouldn't have hurt that much." He slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down on the field. End turn." The card appeared between him and Hyperion, the warrior striking another pose.

Akuma drew. ("You think you're powerful because you got the first hit?") "I play the Pot of Greed magic card to draw two cards." He slid two cards off of his deck. "Now then, let me give you a taste of this decks theme." His field magic card slot opened. "Field magic activates! Darkness Volcano!" All around them the field turned into a molten cavern. Both duelists were now standing on a narrow stone walkway on both sides of this cavern, lava splashing everywhere. "In this dark place the attack power of all monsters with Black in their title increases by 400. Now I summon Red Eyes Black Chick (1200/500) to the field!" A little red egg popped out of the lava and cracked open to reveal a pair of glowing red eyes. "This little monster will be your end."

Ichigo smirked. "Why's that?"

"Because I send it to my graveyard to special summon Red Eyes Black Dragon (2800/2000) to the field!" The little egg exploded in a burst of fire that formed into a giant skeletal black dragon. It roared at Ichigo. "Attack Hyperion, Dark Mega Flare!" A fireball exploded out of its mouth and sailed towards Hyperion.

"Reverse card open!" Ichigo's face-down flipped up. The fireball hit Hyperion and some of the fire kept going to hit him in the face. "Shining Aura is a continuous trap card that makes one Shining Force monster in play impossible to destroy in battle while it is in attack mode."

Ichigo- 2800

Akuma- 3200

Akuma growled at the fact that he had been unable to destroy that annoying monster. "I end my turn."

Ichigo drew. ("I need to keep Hyperion alive until I can beat this guy.") "I summon Shining Force-Spell Binder (500/500) in attack mode!" A dark-robed figure appeared on the field. "I use its special ability to equip it to Red Eyes Black Dragon!" The spellcaster moved back to his magic/trap zone and started chanting.

Akuma grimaced as a glowing circle appeared around his monster. (2100/2000) "What are you doing?"

"Spell Binder can once per turn equip itself to a monster in play and reduce that monsters attack points by 700. Also, it cannot attack or switch modes." Ichigo clenched his fist in triumph. "And that means Hyperion is going to give you another taste of light! Luminous Slasher!" The warrior released another bullet of light that slammed into Akuma's chest. "Also, I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Ichigo- 2800

Akuma- 2400

Akuma drew. ("I won't be stopped by the likes of you.") "I flip summon Masked Dragon (1400/1100) into attack mode!" A white and red dragon appeared on the field and roared. "Also, I summon Fire Flash Dragon (1500/1200) in attack mode." A blood red dragon appeared on the field. "I activate its special ability. By sacrificing Fire Flash Dragon one magic or trap card in play will be destroyed!" The dragon exploded in a burst of fire.

Ichigo expected to lose Spell Binder, but instead Shining Aura shattered. "Huh?"

Akuma pointed at Hyperion. "Masked Dragon attacks!" The Dragon opened its jaws and charged up a fireball.

"Fight back Hyperion, Luminous Slasher!" The warrior fired a single bullet of energy that pierced the dragon's chest and shattered it.

Ichigo- 2800

Akuma- 2300

Akuma slid a card out of his disk and threw it down. "I special summon Red Eyes Black Chick through the effect of Masked Dragon!" Another red egg appeared on the field. "Now I sacrifice it to summon another Red Eyes Black Dragon!" (2800/2000) The egg exploded and another of the skeletal dragons appeared on the field and roared. "End turn."

Ichigo looked down at his deck. ("Here we go.") "It's my turn and I draw." He snapped the top card off of his deck. "I unequip Spell Binder from Red Eyes Black Dragon." The mage returned to the monster field. "Now I switch both of my monsters into defense mode." Both creatures dropped to one knee and placed their arms up in front of them. "Now I set three cards face-down and play Mirage of Nightmare. End turn."

Akuma drew. "During your standby phase Mirage of Nightmare lets you draw until you have four cards in your hand."

Ichigo nodded and snapped four cards off of his deck.

Akuma slapped down a monster. "I summon Mirage Dragon." (1600/600) A golden dragon appeared on the field. "Attack Spell Binder now!" It released a rainbow of light that hit the spellcaster and blew it apart. "Red Eyes Black Dragon, Dark Mega Flare!" One of the two skeletal dragons blasted Hyperion to ash. "And now for the death blow! Red Eyes Black Dragon attacks directly!" The second dragon sprayed a ball of fire towards the half demon. "It's over!"

Ichigo pointed at one of his set cards. "Reveal Emergency Provisions!" Mirage of Nightmare and one of his set cards disappeared. "Now I gain 2000 life points!" The fireball slammed into him and nearly sent him flying.

Ichigo- 2000

Akuma- 2300

Akuma growled. "End turn!"

Ichigo drew. "You're good…"

Akuma sneered. "And you're not."

Ichigo shook his head. "Hold that thought! From my hand I play Monster Reborn to revive Hyperion!" The light warrior appeared on the field. "Now I reveal my face-down card!" One of his two remaining set cards flipped up. "Polymerization will fuse Hyperion and the Shining Force-Gale Spirit Ryu (1200/800) in my hand together!" An ethereal dragon appeared on his field and was sucked into a vortex with Hyperion.

Akuma eyes widened. "A fusion?"

Ichigo smirked. "Come out now, Shining Force-Spirit Galion!" (1800/1200) The monster the floated down onto his field was a humanoid warrior wearing ethereal dragon armor. Its yellow visor swept over each of the three dragons calmly before coming to rest on Akuma. Lifting the odd vacuum cleaner-looking weapon on one arm, it calmly pointed at its enemies.

Akuma growled, as did the dragons he had in play.

Ichigo pointed at Mirage Dragon. "Go Spirit Galion, attack now! Tempest Cannon!" The warrior spread its wings and fired a tornado from its gun that hit all three of the dragons and forced them into crouching positions. "The effect of Spirit Galion lets me switch the modes of any monsters in play when it attacks. So I'll switch all of your dragons into defense mode!"

Akuma frowned. "Haven't you noticed the defense of my Red Eyes Black Dragons?"

Ichigo pointed at his set card. "It doesn't matter! Go Tragedy!" A huge guillotine blade fell from the sky and slashed through all three of the dragons. "This trap card destroys all defense mode monsters on your field when one monster on your field switches into defense!"

Akuma gasped in surprise. "That means…"

"Spirit Galion, direct attack!" The warrior released a stream of green energy that slammed into Akuma and sent the huge man sliding backwards.

Ichigo- 2000

Akuma- 500

Ichigo slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Akuma drew. "I set one monster face-down. End turn."

Ichigo drew. "Now I've got you! I summon Shining Force-Jungle Fighter (1500/1200) in attack mode!" A burly man appeared on the field with a stone-tipped spear in one hand. "Attack now!" It threw its spear and blew the set card apart. "Its special ability lets me special summon one level four monster from my hand to the field in defense mode when it destroys a monster!" He grabbed a card and slapped it down. "So I special summon Shining Force-Dark Reaper!" (1000/1700) A black-robed reaper appeared on the field in a crouching position. It held its scythe in front of it calmly.

Akuma grabbed the top card of his deck. "When Masked Dragon is destroyed I can special summon another one!" A new red and white dragon appeared on the field in a crouching position.

Ichigo pointed at it. "Spirit Galion, attack now!" It lifted its weapon and fired a blast of wind that hit the Masked Dragon as it switched from defense to attack.

Ichigo- 2000

Akuma- 100

Akuma grabbed another card from off of his deck and threw it down. "I special summon another Red Eyes Black Chick in attack mode!" A new red egg appeared on the field. "And now it's my turn." He drew. "Now…" The Red Eyes Black Chick exploded and turned into a Red Eyes Black Dragon. (2800/2000) "….it's time to bring about the destruction…the death of you."

Ichigo rubbed a finger under his nose. "Oh really huh?"

"That's right." Akuma pointed at the Red Eyes Black Dragon. "Dragon…sacrifice yourself to the flames of this place." Snarling, the skeletal dragon leapt into the lava and disappeared in a boiling blast of flame. "Now…can you hear them?" Roars bubbled out of the lava. "Come out now! Red Eyes Darkness Dragon!" (2400/2000) A giant black form emerged from the lava and lowered down onto the field behind him. "This mighty dragon gains 300 attack points for every dragon type monster in my graveyard." (5700/2000)

"5700…." Ichigo gulped.

"That's right! Red Eyes Darkness Dragon, attack Spirit Galion now! Darkness Giga Flame!" It opened its jaws and released a stream of black and orange fire towards the warrior. "It's over!"

Ichigo watched as the fire launched towards him. ("Damn…")

_To be continued…_

_Hi there! This is Ichigo's other half! And from the looks of it he's in trouble now. But don't worry Ichigo, as long as you believe in the power of the Shining Force you can win! EEEK! What's that thing? It's all big and scaly and…_

_Next Episode: Shining Force Unleashed Part 2_

To Seeker of the Soul: Well, this is the truest power of his soul. What do you think so far?

To Adriel: Nooooo….they're gone totally.

To Rex: Here they are…the Shining Force.

To falcon demon general: They might…

To wolfy: I think the chapter answered your question.

To Raine: Freaking traitor…

To Neo Arkadia: Sorry man, but the Cyber Shadows are gone.

To Sinister: Here you go…Chapter 7.

To Dais: If he can't do it then damn…

To the real agent smith: Sorry, but no.

To G.O.T. Nick: Recognize one of the monsters Ichigo played.

To john: Once again, the Cyber Shadows and the Steel Titans are gone.


	8. Shining Force Unleashed! Part 2

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 8: Shining Force Unleashed! Part 2

"_That's right! Red Eyes Darkness Dragon, attack Spirit Galion now! Darkness Giga Flame!" It opened its jaws and released a stream of black and orange fire towards the warrior. "It's over!"_

_Ichigo watched as the fire launched towards him. ("Damn…")_

Akuma pointed at Ichigo. "Now die!"

"Reverse card open!" Ichigo's face-down card flipped up. "Negate Attack burns out your flame!" The blast hit a swirl of energy that evaporated it instantly.

Akuma slid two cards into his disk. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Ichigo drew. ("There's nothing in my hand that can beat this guy. Even with Spirit Galion's special ability I can't pull this off.") "I set one card face-down." The card shimmered into existence behind his three monsters. "And I'll also play the continuous magic card Mirage of Dreams." Spirit Galion folded its wings in front of itself. "I switch Spirit Galion from attack to defense. Then I switch Jungle Fighter into defense mode." The wild man dropped to one knee and held its spear up in front of it. "End turn."

Akuma drew. "Now it's my turn."

Ichigo pointed at Mirage of Dreams. "Mirage of Dreams has a special ability that activate during your standby phase. I shuffle my graveyard and draw the bottom four cards of it." Removing the bottom four cards, he smirked at what he saw.

Akuma pointed at Spirit Galion. "Attack now! Darkness Giga Flame!" The horrible dragon sprayed the fusion warrior with orange and black flame that disintegrated it instantly. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Ichigo drew. "From my hand I play Emergency Provisions!" Mirage of Dreams disappeared in a flash of light.

Ichigo- 3000

Akuma- 500

Looking his hand over, the half demon placed a card onto his disk. "I summon Shining Force-Spell Binder (500/500) in defense mode." A black-robed spellcaster appeared on the field. "I activate the effect of Spell Binder." The mage floated over to Ichigo's magic/trap field and started to chant. A glowing circle appeared around the Red Eye's Darkness Dragon and it froze up. (5000/2000) "End turn."

Akuma drew. "So you think that you can freeze my monster? Reverse card open!" One of his face-down cards flipped up. "I activate the trap card Morph!" Red Eyes Darkness Dragon snapped its wings out and the circle exploded.

Ichigo gasped as Spell Binder floated back to his monster field. "What?"

Akuma sneered. "Morph removes all equipped cards from a monster. Red Eyes Darkness Dragon, there is your target! Darkness Giga Flame!" The dragon sprayed the spellcaster with fire and it was blown away. "Now I set one card face-down. End turn."

Ichigo drew. ("So that was a flop…") "End turn."

Akuma drew. "I set one card face-down on the field! Red Eyes Darkness Dragon, attack Jungle Fighter with Darkness Giga Flame!" The dragon roared and sprayed the wild man with fire, destroying it. "End turn."

Ichigo drew. "Here we go. I activate the continuous magic card Power Cycle. During this turn the attack of two random monsters in play will be switched." Energy started to flow between the Red Eyes Darkness Dragon and the Dark Reaper.

"Reveal Dust Tornado!" Akuma pointed at his set card and it flipped up. "This trap will destroy one magic or trap card in play!" A blast of wind hit the continuous magic card and shattered it.

Ichigo paled and looked at his hand. "End turn."

Akuma drew. "I summon Twin-Headed Behemoth (1500/1200) in attack mode." A two-headed dragon appeared on the field and roared. "Darkness Giga Flame!" The huge dark dragon unleashed a blast of fire that hit the Dark Reaper and blew it away.

"Reveal Shining Armor!" A glowing suit of golden armor appeared around Ichigo's body. "This trap card will protect me from direct attacks for this turn!"

Akuma snickered. "Then I end my turn."

Ichigo drew. ("Heh…") "You're really good Akuma…but I've got the answer to you right here in my hand." He held up a card. "I summon Shining Force-Hyperion (1600/1400) in attack mode!" A gold-suited warrior appeared on the field and struck a pose. "As you remember, this monster attacks your life points directly." He pointed at Akuma. "Attack now!" It lifted its hand, a bullet of light at the end.

Akuma pointed at one of his set cards. "Reveal Energy Shield!" Twin-Headed Behemoth exploded into dust. "This card lets me sacrifice a monster to protect my life points from an attack."

The bullet of light left Hyperion's finger and clanged against the shield that appeared to block it.

Ichigo fanned out his hand and grimaced. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Akuma drew. "I play the continuous magic card Dark Driver!" A huge black steel cannon appeared on the field. "This card's special ability lets me sacrifice magic and trap cards in play to deal your 500 life points of damage."

Ichigo growled in the back of his throat.

"Because of my Volcano card and the Twin-Headed Behemoth in my graveyard Red Eyes Darkness Dragon gains 700 attack points." (6400/2000) "Attack Hyperion now! Darkness Giga Flame!" It roared and sprayed fire towards the warrior.

Ichigo pointed at one of his set cards. "Reveal Shining Mirror!" A glowing golden mirror appeared on the field. "This card activates when a Shining Force monster is attacked." The fire washed over the warrior and blew it apart. "All life point damage to me through battle is zero. Also, I gain 1000 life points."

Ichigo- 4000

Akuma- 500

Akuma chuckled. "You're useless if you think that can save you."

Ichigo pointed at his set card. "I activate the trap card Shining Signal!" A blast of energy exploded out of the card and flew up into the air. "This card lets me draw cards from my deck until I reach a Shining Force monster and special summon it." He snapped cards off of his deck and then held up a card. Slapping it down he snapped his fingers as a huge beautiful flower grew out of the ground. "Shining Force-Aroma Revival Flower (0/1600) in defense mode!"

Akuma snarled. "End turn!"

Ichigo drew. "End turn."

Akuma drew. "Red Eyes Darkness Dragon attacks your monster now! Darkness Giga Flame!" The dragon sprayed the flower with fire and blew it apart.

Ichigo braced himself as his monster was destroyed. "Aroma Revival Flower's special ability lets me pick up one Shining Force monster from my graveyard and I draw one card!" He picked up a monster card from his graveyard and then drew.

Akuma shrugged. He knew that his dragon was more than powerful enough to hold against anything this boy could play. "End turn."

Ichigo drew. "First I play Pot of Greed." He drew two cards. "Then I summon Shining Force-Element Commander!" (700/500) A cyborg in steel armor appeared on the field and floated down in front of its master. "This monster, when summoned and I have no cards in play, lets me draw two cards." He snapped two cards off of his deck. ("This is the best chance I have…") "I activate the equipment magic card Union of Power!" Electricity charged along Element Commander's body and then the energy arched into his graveyard slot. A card slid free and the black-cloaked form of Dark Reaper appeared on the field. "This card lets me special summon one Shining Force monster from my graveyard to the field with 1000 less attack points!" (0/1700)

Akuma watched the two monsters and frowned. ("What's this?")

Ichigo looked down at his hand. ("The shining power of my soul…") He held up a card. "Polymerization!" Spell Binder appeared on the field. "I fuse Dark Reaper, Spell Binder and Element Commander together!" All three monsters were pulled into a vortex of energy. Dark lightning slammed down onto the field and arched everywhere. Then it all came together in the center of the field and formed into a pillar.

Akuma actually felt energy even darker than his own power form within that column. "What is that?"

Ichigo watched as the pillar dropped. A hooded mage-like stood on the field. In one hand rested a black steel staff with a purple jewel on top that was glowing with energy of its own. "It's the power of darkness! Shining Force-Dark Skull Mage (2700/2500) in attack mode!" The monster's red eyes opened and it looked upon the Red Eyes Darkness Dragon with a glance that could only be called demeaning. _"You are the one who challenges the power of the Dark Halo? For that you must feel the cold touch of death."_

Akuma narrowed his eyes. "It's impressive…but not…"

Ichigo held up a finger. "Union of Power activates now!" Electricity arched along the Dark Skull Mage's body. "When a monster equipped with Union of Power is fused that fusion gains double attack power!" (5400/2500)

Akuma started to laugh. "Still not enough…"

Ichigo pointed at Red Eyes Darkness Dragon. "Dark Skull Mage has a special ability! Once per turn I may reduce the attack or defense power of one monster in play by 300 plus the number of monsters in my graveyard times 100. Dark Skull Mage, Dark Draining Blast!" The spellcaster snapped up its staff and hit the dragon with a bolt of purple energy. (5300/2000) "Dark Skull Mage, attack now with Dark Skull Burning!" A fireball of purple energy flew out of the staff and slammed right into the dragon's chest, blowing it apart.

Ichigo- 4000

Akuma- 400

Akuma pointed at one of his set cards. "I reveal Dragon Return! This trap returns one dragon monster that was just destroyed to play." Red Eyes Darkness Dragon reappeared on the field. "Sorry, but you wasted your time."

Ichigo grimaced. "End turn." Dark Skull Mage exploded. "When Union of Power is used the fusion is destroyed at the end of my turn. However, Dark Skull Mage has a special ability! When it is destroyed I may special two of its fusion components to the field one after another!" He slapped two cards down. "I special summon Element Commander and then Dark Reaper!" First the cyborg appeared in play and then the reaper. "And because I had no cards in play when Element Commander was summoned I draw two cards."

Akuma drew. "You're not getting away that easily, little boy." He pointed at Red Eyes Darkness Dragon. "I sacrifice Red Eyes Darkness Dragon…" The monster disappeared in an explosion of fire. "For this monster to be summoned I must sacrifice Red Eyes Darkness Dragon and Darkness Volcano." All around them the lava-filled cavern faded. "Welcome to hell." A giant four-legged form exploded out of ground and snarled at Ichigo. "Red Eyes Nightmare Dragon has been summoned!" (3000/2000) It opened its jaws and released a blast of fire that washed over both Element Commander and Dark Reaper, blowing them apart. "This monster can attack all monsters you have in play and deal damage through defense."

Ichigo- 200

Akuma- 400

Ichigo dropped to his knees as the hellish flare of the Nightmare Dragon washed over him. ("I've got no strength left…")

Akuma threw back his head and laughed wildly. "It's time…it's time for your end!" He pointed at Dark Driver. "Or have you forgotten my card's special ability?"

Ichigo's eyes widened weakly. "No way…"

Akuma smirked. "Exactly. Dark Driver will let me sacrifice my set card to deal you 500 life points of damage."

Ichigo closed his eyes…and started to laugh weakly. "Well damn…you're incredible. And here I thought I could beat you with the shining power of my soul…"

"Well you were wrong!" Akuma's set card shimmered out of existence. "Fire!" The cannon released a ball of energy that slammed into Ichigo and exploded, sending him flying backwards a few dozen feet.

Ichigo- 0

Akuma- 400

"400 life points…" Akuma sneered. "You were close. But still no match for me. Perhaps master Midnight won't even need to bring out the other Speakers. It seems like I've taken down the best duelists this world has to offer so far." He walked over to Ichigo and narrowed his eyes. After a few moments he started to laugh, and then he felt out with his mind. ("Another group of people. And one of them possesses a strong aura. Perhaps I'll have to worry about him.") He looked down at the deck in his disk and felt it change again. After a few moments…he drew the top card from it and started to laugh. "I see…how deliciously ironic." Turning, he started to walk towards the location of the nurses' office. "I come for you…"

Ichigo's body didn't move. But it still drew breath. And slowly it tried to stand up. ("I…I….can't…give up…")

_**("Give up your soul to the darkness. You have fallen to the darkness games, and as such it is over for you.")**_

Ichigo clenched his fist weakly as he felt dark tendrils curl around his body. ("No…I won't let you take me away yet…I won't let you…")

_**("What can you do to stop us, mortal?")**_

Ichigo's hair turned a faint shade of black. ("Go away…now…")

**_("We obey no simple mortal. We are the enforcement of agreements from hundreds of deities far beyond your comprehension. Now give up your soul to us.")_**

Ichigo tried to get up. ("No…so many lives are at stake…I have to win…")

_**("It's enough. Fall. You have lost this duel.")**_

("Eri…Adriel…Hitokage…so many innocent lives…") He tried again, but all he felt this time was cold. ("Damned legs…work…")

_**("We've heard enough of your rambling. Your soul belongs to the shadows.")**_

Ichigo stopped moving…and a dark wind blew over what was now a graveyard of fallen heroes.

_To be continued…_

_I can feel it. It is like a black void. Whatever this thing is now comes to harm my kin. For that I will make it pay. I am Jourgen Politumas, a devout follower of Bahamut's path, and I shall not fall!_

_Next Episode: Battle of Fusion_

To Rex: No comment. You might see them again.

To Adriel: Luna is more of an energy form than a card. It changes as it needs to. And at the moment it resides within Ichigo's body….unlike his soul.

To Seeker of the Soul: Think of it like this though. This boy is the container in which the Dark Halo (nearly the enforcer of the darkness games) resides, as well the 'avatar' of the goddess of the moon. Plus he's the hero of the story. But anyway, he's out so it really doesn't matter, does it? As for Blessings of Luna, why did you think that I changed it?

To Bobbomp: Then paint me lame!

To Anime Albino: Errr….something like that.

To GryphinWyrm: Sorry, Fenrir is good against gods but not that great against much else.

To Neo Arkadia: They'll be okay once Akuma is taken down.

To Raine: Yeah, the Shining Force is strong.


	9. Battle of Fusion

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 9: Battle of Fusion

Midnight sat back in his throne and watched as Akuma approached the place where the remaining nuisances were. "Next up is the follower of Bahamut. This should be enjoyable. I so hate Bahamut…he's such an annoying god. Always he enforces justice and strength amongst brethren."

"Perhaps he'll come out though…" A calm voice said from the back wall. "What then would Akuma do?"

"Akuma's death would be of little consequence." Midnight smirked. "He is but a human who has undergone the trials of hell. Unlike you, Curse."

"Thank you for your kind words master."

* * *

Ryu stood at the entryway to the office, his eyes locked ahead. "So you have fallen Rikuo…" He growled. "I shall slay this monster…"

Eri's muffled snarls of anger came from within the room behind him.

Ryu sighed. "Calm down child. I will deal with this monster."

Akuma casually strolled towards the small building with a calm smile on his face. He was whistling a calm tune and then saw the gold-haired dragon demon waiting for him. "Aw, my next opponent. How are you?"

Ryu growled and bared his fangs. "Don't you talk nonchalantly to me you bastard!"

Akuma shrugged and activated his duel disk. "Very well then, let's duel."

Ryu- 4000

Akuma- 4000

Ryu drew, looked at the drawn card, and smiled. "I summon Gaius the Earth Dragon (500/2200) in defense mode." A huge dragon that resembled a boulder appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Now I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Akuma drew. "Hm…I know of your deck type. It is one that runs with the power of dragons." He placed a card face-down on his disk and then slid a card into his disk. "End turn."

Ryu drew. ("Damn…he's defending.") "I'll have to fight then. I sacrifice Gaius to summon Crystallis the Ice Dragon!" (2200/2000) A giant pillar of ice exploded out of the ground and then opened its red eyes, snarling at the set card. "Attack now! Ice Blast!" It sprayed a mist over the set card, which froze and then exploded into powder.

Akuma removed a card from his deck. "When the monster you destroyed is flipped up I can add one monster to my hand." He fanned out his five cards.

Ryu smiled slightly. "End turn." ("Let's see how long you can defend now.")

Akuma drew and held up a card. "I activate Polymerization from my hand. And then from my hand…" He felt a building power.

And so did everyone in the office. Eri quite literally threw Adriel and Davis off of her and stumbled to the doorway. "That power…"

Akuma took two cards from his hand and held them up. "I fuse Cyber Shadow Berserker (1900/1200) and Cyber Shadow Strongarm (1900/1300) together to create Cyber Shadow Wild Driver!" (2500/1500) A huge double sword wielding warrior lowered down onto the field and roared out a battle cry.

Ryu's eyes widened. ("The Cyber Shadows?")

Eri nearly passed out. "How did…he get that deck?" Everyone in the room behind her went quiet as they stared at the giant standing on the field.

Akuma pointed at Crystallis. "Go now with Double Rage Slash!" It launched forwards and slashed its two weapons through the body of the icy snake dragon, blowing it apart. "End turn."

Ryu- 3700

Akuma- 4000

Ryu grimaced and drew. "Reverse cards open!" His face-down cards flipped up. "First I use Dragon's Heart to special summon two more Crystallis from my deck to the field!" Two icy snake dragons appeared on the field and roared in unison. "Also, I activate Nexus Warp!" A flaming snake dragon appeared on the field. "Fuse together Infernus and Crystallis together to form Grand Nexus Dragon!" (2800/2000) A dragon that looked like it was made of burning ice appeared on the field and roared. "Attack Wild Driver now!" It released a blast of ice and fire towards the giant warrior.

"Reverse card open!" Wild Driver leapt out of the way of the attack. "Narrow Escape lets my monster escape your attack. Also, I can set one card from my hand face-down." A card appeared behind his warrior.

Ryu slid another card into his disk. "I set one card face-down. End turn."

Akuma drew. "Now…I attack your Crystallis with Wild Driver! Double Rage Slash!" The giant charged and cross-slashed through the snake dragon, blowing it apart.

Ryu- 3400

Akuma- 4000

Ryu braced himself against the backlash and frowned. ("I'm far from done with you.") He drew. "I play the magic card Fusion Reverse." Nexus Dragon God disappeared. "This card lets me take one fusion monster in play, split it into its original parts, and then refuse any groups of monsters I have!" Crystallis and Infernus appeared on the field, and then a dragon made of light appeared between then. "Shine the Light Dragon (0/0) fuses with Crystallis and Infernus to create Divine Nexus Dragon!" (2800/1000) A snake dragon made of gold, ice, and fire appeared on the field. "This monster will destroy you with its special effect."

"You are a fool to challenge this deck with a fusion." Akuma pointed at his set card. "I activate De-Fusion!" Divine Nexus Dragon exploded into three balls that reformed into the original pieces.

Ryu clenched his fist angrily. "End turn."

Akuma drew. "You are using the wrong strategy against the power of my deck!" He threw a card down. "I summon Cyber Shadow Blademaster (2000/1600) and declare its attack against Shine!" A warrior with two swords appeared on the field and slashed through the glittering light dragon. "Wild Driver, attack Infernus!" The huge giant slashed through the fire dragon. "End turn!"

Ryu closed his eyes and drew. ("I have two cards…and neither of them will be useful yet.") "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Akuma drew. "I summon Cyber Shadow Retriever (1000/1000) in attack mode." A silver colored crab appeared on the field. "Now I attack Crystallis with Wild Driver!" The warrior slashed through the ice snake dragon and it shattered. "Now this duel nears completion! From my hand I play the quickplay magic card Reckless Charge!" Energy flowed around Blademaster's body. "This cad raises the attack of the targeted monster by 700 until the end of the turn." (2700/1600) "Blademaster, attack his life points directly!"

Ryu pointed at his set card. "Reveal Call of the Haunted! This trap will revive Infernus!" The fire snake dragon exploded out of the earth just in time to get cut down by the swords of Blademaster.

Ryu- 2900

Akuma- 4000

Akuma pointed at the dragon demon. "Retriever attacks directly!" The crab robot slashed across Ryu's chest and left him stumbling. "End turn."

Ryu- 1900

Akuma- 4000

Ryu looked down at his deck and then smiled. "You wish to play the game of fusion? Very well then…I'll humor you!" He drew. "First Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards!" Sliding two cards off of his deck, he snickered. "Now I play Wings of Bahamut!" Nexus Dragon God appeared on the field, roared, and then blew apart into Crystallis and Infernus. "This magic card lets me split apart one fusion in my graveyard." Both Crystallis and Infernus roared. "Now, attack Retriever will all of your rage Infernus! Fire Blast!" The snake dragon sprayed the machine with flames and blew it apart.

Ryu- 1900

Akuma- 2800

Akuma removed a card from his graveyard. "When Retriever is destroyed as a result of battle I may add one Cyber Shadow from my graveyard to my hand." He pointed at Ryu. "So do not think that you are so powerful."

Ryu tapped the side of his head. "Don't worry, I'm not done yet! Crystallis, Ice Blast!" The ice snake dragon sprayed Blademaster with mist and it froze. Seconds later it exploded into dust. "Then from my hand I play Polymerization!" The two monsters disappeared and were replaced by Nexus Dragon God. (2800/2000) "End turn."

Ryu- 1900

Akuma- 2600

* * *

Ichigo's eyes opened slowly. "Where….why am I alive?"

"Well…technically you're not."

Ichigo looked up…and rubbed his eyes in amazement. "It's you…er, me again."

The blond-haired female version of Ichigo smiled and helped him to his feet. "Hiya!"

Ichigo sighed. "I've lost my mind…" He was standing with his other half in a huge white temple. "Yep…I'm crazy."

The female Ichigo waved a finger in the air. "There's no need to be pessimistic about this! You're alive after all!"

The half demon glared at her. "I though your said the Shining Force could beat Akuma. Now, unless I imagined that whole duel I just lost!"

"Well…yeah…."

"WELL?" Ichigo kicked a pillar next to him. "I did my best and I still lost! Mind telling me how I'm supposed to be the hero if the stupid cards are so weak that they can't beat some lousy…"

"Enough." A voice said from behind him…

Ichigo froze…and tingles ran through his body. ("I've never heard that voice before…but I…") He slowly turned around…and found himself looking up at a tall woman in flowing golden robes.

She smiled sweetly at him. "Hello Ichigo."

The half demon's right eye started to twitch. "You couldn't be…"

"I am…"

"But that would mean…"

"That's right…"

Ichigo fainted.

The female Ichigo sighed. "He's so easy to scare."

Luna laughed quietly. "Yes, but he tries so hard to be brave."

* * *

Akuma drew. "You think you can defend yourself from my power?" He held up the drawn card. "Card of Sanctity forces us both to draw until we are holding six cards." They both drew five cards. "Now I'll take you down, my dear mortal."

"Bring it on." Ryu looked down at his hand cards and smiled slightly. ("In the next turn Bahamut will run you down.")

Akuma opened his field magic card slot. "Go Fusion Gate!" Up in the air above him a swirl of energy formed. "Now I unleash destruction in the form of this mighty monster!" He snapped up a card. "First I play The Warrior Returning Alive to take back one warrior monster!" He held up Blademaster. "Prepare yourself, because I use Fusion Gate to fuse Blademaster, Soldier, and Assassin together!" A trench-coat wearing warrior lowered onto the field. "Cyber Shadow Lord of Knives is summoned." (2800/2300) The fusion warrior looked back at Akuma in confusion. _"Who are you?"_

"I am your new master." Akuma smirked at Ryu. "So tell me mortal, do you see what is about to happen to you?"

The dragon demon clenched his fist and looked back at Adriel. "Go. Get out of here."

"Dad…" Adriel started to move forwards, but Hitokage placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

Ryu's eyes met the jade ones of Hitokage. "Contact Deondre, CJ…anyone who can come. Tell them to use everything they can to stop this monster."

Akuma pointed at Nexus Dragon God. "End this Lord of Knives!" The warrior glared at him. "You heard me! Attack it now!"

Lord of Knives looked at Ryu and frowned. _"I know who you are…you are the father of the dragon son."_ He closed his eyes and sighed. _"Please know that I mean nothing personal by this."_

Ryu grimaced and nodded. "Come then…"

Akuma slammed his foot into the ground. "Do as I say! Knife Barrage!" The warrior snapped both of its hands and released a storm of knives towards the ice/fire dragon.

Ryu pointed at Lord of Knives. "Divine Torrent!" His dragon released a blast of power that hit the warrior at the same time the knives connected. Both monsters exploded into dust. "Finish it."

"Wild Driver, direct attack!" The huge warrior leapt high into the air and slammed down in front of Ryu, creating an explosion that sent his soulless body flying backwards through one of the office walls.

Ryu- 0

Akuma- 2600

Akuma turned, his eyes following something in the nearby forest area. "You cannot run children. I'm coming for you…and with my new deck I'll steal all of your souls and deliver them to master Midnight." He started to walk…

* * *

Ichigo watched Luna with narrowed eyes. After walking around her for the fiftieth time, he nodded. "Alright, I believe you."

Luna giggled. "You're such a silly boy."

The female Ichigo giggled as well.

The half demon glared at his other self. "Hey, stop that! You make me sound like a girl!"

Both of them fell to the ground laughing.

Ichigo tried desperately to control the twitching of his right eye. "You…" He spun around and stomped off. "I'm out of here!"

"Hang on a second." Luna stood up and brushed off her robes. "I'm sorry for laughing at you Ichigo, I'm sure that wasn't very funny to you."

Sighing, Ichigo scuffed his heel on the marble floor. "Well yeah…I mean…" He looked up at the ceiling. "I never asked to be a girl."

The female Ichigo sniffled. "You want to get rid of me?"

"Errr…." The half demon sighed and looked at Luna. "So…could you do so?"

"Unfortunately I cannot help you in that respect." Luna bowed her head. "I cashed in a very powerful favor to save your soul from the darkness realm's grasp, and you're nearly at the physical limit anyway. Right now your body is healing, and soon you'll be at full strength again."

Ichigo sighed and looked at the female version of himself. "And what am I supposed to call you anyway?"

She struck a little pose and fluttered her eyes at him. "You can call me the illustrious Alahandra!" Dancing around, she struck another pose. "Well…what do you think?"

Luna started to applaud.

Ichigo groaned and walked off. "Good grief…"

_To be continued…_

_Hi, this is the illustrious Alahandra! Well while Ichigo goes and bashes his head against that pillar over there, I'll be doing the previews for the next episode!_

_**No! I'll tolerate a lot of things but this is my preview time! Hey guys…they'll be…**_

_Lots of fun stuff! Adriel says he has an idea for how to beat Akuma's stolen Cyber Shadows…_

**_But the problem is that he doesn't have any time…_ **

_So Hitokage's going to give it a shot!_

_**Go Hitokage, show that imposter that there's only one duelist who could ever use the Cyber Shadows!**_

_Next Episode: The Demon Hunter Brothers vs. Cyber Shadows_

To Dais: There is a way to stop him.

To Seeker of the Soul: Hopefully someone will be able to stop this guy by then.

To Bobbomp: How about a nice spiked one to turn inside out and put on ya?

To Anime Albino: Well then your get your wish, I suppose, miss Reverse Psychology.

To Neo Arkadia: Sorry dude, but Akuma is out of this world good.

To Rex: I'm glad you agree.

To G.O.T. Nick: Awww…but Shining Force has good flair anyway. And perhaps that will happen. There are many sharp rocks after all.

To Falcon Demon General: The poor boy isn't dead.

To Adriel: By all means entertain me. Dance monkey, dance!

To Raine: That it was!

To Gryphinwyrm: What have I said about people openly predicting what I will do next?


	10. The Demon Hunter Brothers vs Cyber Shado...

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 10: The Demon Hunter Brothers vs. Cyber Shadows

Midnight took a deep relaxing breath and watched Akuma follow the remaining children through the darkness of the forest. "This is all too sweet. I don't even know why I am watching this…Akuma will defeat these children."

Curse's shadowed form stood behind the throne. "Perhaps, but we'd best watch him."

* * *

Adriel plowed through the underbrush and motioned for the others to hurry up. "Come on! Don't stop!" 

Hitokage walked around the underbrush and glared at him. "Don't rush me. I'll move at the proper speed. It isn't like he is hurrying to find us."

Eri sniffed the air and snarled. "No matter how fast we go he just seems to keep getting closer and closer!"

Adriel blinked in surprise and looked around in confusion. "Where's Davis?"

* * *

Davis readjusted his cowboy hat and walked towards the Ra Yellow dorm. ("I have to contact…")

* * *

Akuma felt twigs break underneath his feet. "Come out little children." 

Adriel growled in the back of his throat. "We need a way to beat this guy…wait…" He glanced over at Hitokage, who was crouching next to him on the ledge overlooking Akuma. "I have a way to beat his deck."

"Really…then use it and end this madness."

"I don't have the cards with me." The half dragon demon looked out in the direction of the Obelisk Blue boy's dorm. "I need you to buy me time."

Akuma casually looked up at the two. "Excuse me, but I'd think it best if you came down and met your match."

Adriel clenched his fist and glanced at Hitokage.

The blond-haired boy nodded and signaled for him to go.

* * *

Ichigo sighed and banged his head against the marble pillar again. "How long is the healing process supposed to take?" 

Alahandra sighed. "Banging your head won't do any good, so knock it off."

Luna sighed. "Oh my…it looks like Shade's holder is going to duel against Akuma."

Ichigo slid up to the pool in the center of the temple and looked down into it at the image of Hitokage facing off against Akuma in the middle of a forest clearing. "Hitokage's going to fight that monster…"

* * *

Hitokage- 4000 

Akuma- 4000

Akuma drew. "I summon Cyber Shadow Soldier (1600/1600) in defense mode." A medium-sized warrior appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Also, I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Ichigo's eyes nearly exploded out of his head. "HEY! THAT'S MY DECK!"

"So it is." Luna giggled. "You shouldn't get crazy though, because it'll be bad for your heart."

"BUT THAT'S MY DECK!"

Hitokage drew. "I summon Hell Dancer (1700/700) in attack mode." A blue-skinned woman in dancer's garb appeared on the field, forearm blades attached to her arms. "Attack Soldier now!" She snapped her arms across the Soldier's chest and it exploded into dust. "This monster's special ability lets me special summon another one when it destroys a monster as a result of battle!" Another dancer appeared next to the first. "Direct attack!" It leapt forwards and slashed across Akuma's chest. "I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Hitokage- 4000

Akuma- 2300

Akuma drew. "I summon Cyber Shadow Blademaster (2000/1600) to the field!" A dual-sword wielding warrior appeared in play and leapt forwards, slashing through one of the dancers. "End turn."

Hitokage- 3700

Akuma- 2300

Hitokage drew. "First I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." He slid the top two cards off of his deck. "Now I summon Demon Tarantula (2200/100) to the field." A huge spider appeared in play. "For this monster to attack I must sacrifice a monster in play and 500 life points!" The spider snapped around and ate the dancer. Then it turned and tackled Blademaster, destroying it instantly.

Hitokage- 3200

Akuma- 2100

Akuma barely budged. "It's not enough."

Hitokage pointed at his set card. "I activate Call of the Haunted!" One of the Dancers appeared in play. "Direct attack!" It slashed its weapon through the air, creating a scythe of energy that flew through the giant's body. "End turn."

Hitokage- 3200

Akuma- 400

* * *

"Alright!" Alahandra threw her fist up into the air. "Keep at it Hitokage! You've nearly got him!" 

Ichigo sighed and shook his head. "No…he doesn't."

"Huh?" Alahandra blinked at her male side. "What do you mean?"

"His face-down card…"

* * *

Akuma drew. "I summon Cyber Shadow Trainer (300/1200) in defense mode." A grizzled old man appeared on the field in a crouching position. "This monster's special ability lets me raise the attack of all other Cyber Shadows in play by 500 points." 

Hitokage narrowed his eyes. "A defense won't work…"

"Reveal Shadow Theft!" Akuma sneered. "This trap card can only activate when I have a Cyber Shadow monster in play. I steal one magic or trap card from your field." Call of the Haunted shimmered onto his field. "Now I return Cyber Shadow Blademaster to the field!"

Hitokage gasped in surprise as his Dancer turned to dust.

Akuma pointed at his Blademaster. "The effect of Trainer raises the attack of Blademaster to 2500!" (2500/1600) "Attack now, Double Slash!" The warrior slashed its blades across the tarantula's body and it exploded into dust.

Hitokage- 2900

Akuma- 400

Hitokage narrowed his eyes. ("Oh no…")

Akuma chuckled. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Hitokage drew. "I play Heavy Storm to destroy all magic and trap cards in play!" A blast of wind swept across the cards on Akuma's field and shattered them. Blademaster also shattered as Call of the Haunted was destroyed. "Now I summon another Hell Dancer!" (1700/700) A new dancer appeared on the field and then charged, slashing through the Trainer immediately. "Finally I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Akuma drew. "You're impressive…but not that impressive." He took a card from his hand and held it up. "I activate Silent Rebirth to revive a normal monster from my graveyard to the field in defense mode." Cyber Shadow Soldier appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Now I play…"

* * *

Ichigo bit his lower lip. ("Don't you dare…")

* * *

"…Polymerization!" Akuma grabbed another hand card and held it up. "Assassin and Soldier fuse together…" A bodysuit covered warrior with a bandana that flapped in an invisible wind appeared on the field. "Special Operative Snake (2000/1800) is summoned!" 

Snake looked back at Akuma with a hero's glare. The kind of glare that said, 'I will not be your puppet'.

The giant crossed his broad arms across his chest. "Do as I order of you Snake. Attack the Dancer now."

Snake leapt across the field and dealt a weak gut punch to the Hell Dancer, blowing it apart.

Hitokage frowned and pointed at one of his set cards. "I activate Spirit Barrier!" A yellow shield appeared in front of him. "This continuous trap card makes all battle damage to me zero while I have a monster in play!"

Snake smiled to Hitokage slightly and floated back to Akuma's field. The giant glowered and slid the last card in his hand into his disk. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Ichigo looked at the image in the pool. "Snake…" Snarling, he glared at Luna. "How long?"

She sighed. "I'm not sure."

Hitokage grimaced and drew. "I'm not defeated yet. I summon Possessed Marionette (500/1000) in defense mode!" A wooden marionette appeared on the field in a crouching position. "When this monster is summoned I can special summon two more." Two new Marionettes appeared on the field alongside the first. "End turn."

Akuma drew. "Snake, attack one of the Marionettes now!" The agent leapt and punched through one of the dolls, it exploding immediately. "End turn."

Hitokage drew. "I play the ritual magic card Opening the Gate to the Demon World!" A huge hole opened up in the sky and sucked up the two Marionettes. A spiky white-haired young man in a blue coat with a katana at his side appeared on the field. "Legendary Demon Swordsman Vergil!" (2000/1800)

Akuma snickered. "Your monster has the same attack score as mine. Therefore you cannot hope to overcome…"

Hitokage threw a card down onto his disk. "I summon Hell Sloth (1800/1700) in attack mode!" A reaper made of sand appeared on the field and cackled, waving its scythe around. "Vergil, attack Snake now!" The spiky-haired youth drew its katana and made a few gestures with the blade.

At the same time Snake pulled a small black detonator out of its suit and held it up.

Vergil sheathed his sword at the same time that Snake pressed the plunger of the detonator, and both of them exploded into dust.

Hitokage pointed at Akuma. "Hell Sloth, attack his life points directly!" The reaper cackled and charged.

"Reveal Emergency Alarm!" A high-pitched noise rang across the field and the reaper stopped in its tracks. "This trap negates one attack and lets me add one Cyber Shadow from my graveyard to my hand." Akuma held up Blademaster.

Hitokage grimaced. "End turn."

Akuma sneered and drew. "First I'll return the favor for before! Go Heavy Storm!" A blast of heavy wind shattered Hitokage's set card and his Spirit Barrier. "Now I summon Cyber Shadow Blademaster!" The warrior reappeared on the field. "Also, I play Monster Reborn!" Snake appeared on the field next to the sword-wielder. "This is the end."

Hitokage gritted his teeth.

"Snake, attack Hello Sloth now!" The warrior leapt across the field and landed a kick to the side of the reaper's head, its body falling apart instantly. "Direct attack!" Blademaster leapt over Snake's head and slashed across Hitokage's chest. "End turn!"

Hitokage- 700

Akuma- 400

* * *

Alahandra gulped as she watched Hitokage drop to his knees. "Can he win?" 

Ichigo and Luna both looked grim-faced. "Maybe…"

* * *

Hitokage stumbled to his feet. "It's my turn now…" He drew. "Now I discard one card from my hand to activate Evil Hurricane! This magic card destroys all monsters in play that aren't either demons or undead!" A blast of dark wind washed over the field and blew both warriors apart. "End turn." 

Akuma sneered. "You're betting that I don't draw a monster?" He drew and snapped the card up. "Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards!" Snapping the top two cards off of his deck, he slid one of them into his disk. "I set one card face-down on the field. End turn."

Hitokage drew. And when he looked upon the drawn card he let a small smile leave his lips. "You are a strong enemy, but I no normal person. I dare not feed from you, but it matters not!" He slapped the card down. "I summon Legendary Demon Hunter Dante (1500/1200) in attack mode!" A red-coated white-haired warrior that looked like the twin of Vergil appeared on the field with a pair of handguns in his hands. Smirking, he twirled the weapons a few times and then holstered them. "When this monster is summoned I may play one equipment magic card from my deck!"

"What card could you play that would protect you from my set card?" Akuma started to smile…

Hitokage removed a card from his deck and slid it into the magic/trap underneath Dante. "Berserker Blades Agni and Rudra activate!" A pair of curved swords that looked spines fell from the sky and landed into Dante's hands. "This card's special ability increases Dante's attack power by 500!" (2000/1200) "Now, direct attack!" Snapping both swords behind him, Dante roared and ran towards Akuma.

"Reveal Mirror Force!" Akuma pointed at his set card…but nothing happened. "What?"

Hitokage smiled. "The effect of Agni and Rudra prevents you from activating magic and trap cards on the field in response to Dante's attack! Go now, Blades of the Wind and Flames!" Dante's two swords slashed across Akuma's chest in an X formation.

The giant looked at the red and blue glowing slashes across his chest and then discarded the card in his hand into the graveyard. "It's a shame that I activate this quickplay magic card from my hand."

"What?" Hitokage watched in surprise as Snake appeared on the field and held up a black detonator. "How did you come back?"

"Snake's Final Trap…." Akuma sneered. "This card will activate if Snake is in the graveyard. It can be activated when it is the only card in my hand at any time. One monster in play will be destroyed and half of its attack will be deducted from your life points!" Dante exploded.

Hitokage- 0

Akuma- 400

Hitokage stumbled weakly. ("It's like facing Ichigo…except so much darker…") Dropping to the ground, his breathing grew shallow.

* * *

Ichigo punched his fist into the marble at his feet. "NO!" 

Alahandra whimpered.

Luna sighed. "Because of the fact he is a Soul Reaver Hitokage will be alright, but there's only one duelist near Akuma now…"

Ichigo snarled. "Eri…"

* * *

Akuma shuffled his deck and kept walking. "I sense you. Come out and face your fate." 

Eri stepped out from behind a rock. "I'll crush you…and make sure that every single life that you taken will be avenged right now!"

Akuma slammed his deck into its slot and the device activated. "Come then…"

* * *

"ERI!" Ichigo punched the marble floor again, cracks appearing along it. "Don't do it!"

"I can't watch…" Alahandra covered her face.

Luna frowned.

* * *

"Stop."

Eri and Akuma both looked over to the side of the clearing…

Adriel walked in front of the girl and activated his Duel Coat. "Akuma…I challenge you. And this time you'll lose…"

Adriel- 4000

Akuma- 4000

Akuma smirked coldly. "And why is that?"

Now that the duel had been engaged Adriel knew it was safe to speak. "Because you're about to face the fruits of my research. You made a big mistake by copying the deck of Ichigo Pilkington…" He drew. "Because this deck is the perfect method to defeat you! My anti-warrior dragon deck!"

"Anti-warrior?" Eri, Akuma, and Ichigo in Luna's dimension said in surprise.

_To be continued…_

_Ichigo here…and what in the world is Adriel talking about? What kind of secret deck has he been working on? And for that matter…when will this stupid healing process end?_

_Next Episode: Gambit of the Grand Fusion Dragon_

To Adriel: That might just have to be done.

To Rex: That it is.

To Seeker of the Soul: Of course. Curse is a demon who has experienced the trials of hell. Akuma is a human who had experienced the trials of hell. Also, I thought it best to try and lighten the mood at least momentarily.

To G.O.T. Nick: You'd better get those new heat-seeking sharp rocks, just in case.

To Gryphinwyrm: That's right, don't say your predictions or else I might just decide to mess them up.

To Victor: Err….thank you I suppose.

To john: Yup, I guess it is.

To Wolfy: He hasn't been sent anywhere yet.

To falcon demon general: Well good luck with kicking the crap out of Akuma.

To White Mage: Welcome to the reviewer family.

To Bobbomp: Most likely.

To Anime Albino: Yes, he probably is.


	11. Gambit of the Grand Fusion Dragon

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 11: Gambit of the Grand Fusion Dragon  
_"Stop."_

_Eri and Akuma both looked over to the side of the clearing…_

_Adriel walked in front of the girl and activated his Duel Coat. "Akuma…I challenge you. And this time you'll lose…"_

_Adriel- 4000_

_Akuma- 4000_

_Akuma smirked coldly. "And why is that?"_

_Now that the duel had been engaged Adriel knew it was safe to speak. "Because you're about to face the fruits of my research. You made a big mistake by copying the deck of Ichigo Pilkington…" He drew. "Because this deck is the perfect method to defeat you! My anti-warrior dragon deck!"_

"_Anti-warrior?" Eri, Akuma, and Ichigo in Luna's dimension said in surprise._

Adriel nodded and looked at his hand. "That's right…anti-warrior." He slid a card into his disk. "First though I play Different Dimension Capsule. This card lets me select one card from my deck and place it into my removed from play pile. In two turns that card will enter my hand."

Akuma snickered and looked at his hand. ("With this powerful deck I cannot be defeated by anyone. Especially not the likes of you, boy.")

Adriel opened his field magic card slot. "Now I play Dragon's Haven. As long as this haven is in play all battle damage that I would take is negated." He threw a card down. "Now I summon Element Dragon (1500/1200) in attack mode." An orange dragon appeared on the field and roared quietly. "End turn."

Akuma drew. "Then let me crush that dragon. Cyber Shadow-Berserker (1900/1200) in attack mode!" A wild warrior holding a sharp toothed sword appeared in play. "Attack Element Dragon!" It leapt across the field and slashed through the dragon easily. "End turn."

Adriel drew. ("One turn to go.") "I summon Divine Dragon Ragnarok (1500/1000) in defense mode." A mist-like white dragon appeared on his field. "End turn."

Akuma drew. "I summon Cyber Shadow Blademaster (2000/1600) in attack mode!" A twin sword wielding warrior appeared on the field. "Also, I play the continuous magic card Cyber Shadow Mainframe." Energy flowed around his two monsters. "This card will raise the attack of all Cyber Shadows in play by 500." (2400/1200) (2500/1600) "Now Berserker, attack Ragnarok!" The warrior slashed through the dragon and it exploded into dust. "Blademaster, direct attack!" The twin-sword warrior slashed across the boy's chest. "Now I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Adriel- 1500

Akuma- 4000

Adriel laughed and drew. "You just sealed your fate." He removed a card from his disk and added it to his hand. "Different Dimension Capsule adds the stored card to my hand." Licking his lips, the half dragon demon sneered. "Now then…let's get a monster onto the field. I special summon Fire Tongue Raptor (1500/1200) to the field." A fire red dinosaur appeared on the field. "This monster's special ability lets me special summon it if I have more monsters in my graveyard than any other kind of card."

"So what?" Akuma pointed at his monsters. "These creatures I control are far too strong for your monster."

Adriel held up a finger. "We'll see about that. Because I now sacrifice Fire Tongue Raptor to summon my best method to win this duel!" The dinosaur disappeared in a flash of light. "Come out now, Magnum Crasher Dragon!" (3000/2500) A huge dragon covered in steel armor appeared on the field and roared.

"That monster has ten level stars…" Akuma pointed at him. "How did you summon it for one sacrifice?"

Adriel chuckled. "Its special ability causes it to cost less one sacrifice for every warrior my opponent has in play. Now I order it to attack! Magnum Shooter!" The dragon shot out a bullet of energy that hurtled towards Blademaster.

"Reverse card open!" Akuma's set card flipped up and his monsters disappeared. "What? Truce of Opposing Forces should have…" He gritted his teeth as the bullet slammed right into his stomach.

Adriel- 1500

Akuma- 1000

Adriel snickered. "The effect of Magnum Crasher Dragon makes it immune to trap effects. So sad huh? So for now I set one card face-down and end my turn." A card shimmered into existence behind his dragon.

Akuma snarled and drew. "You little…" He looked at the drawn card…and smiled. "Let me end you. I summon Cyber Shadow Shifter (800/1200) in attack mode!" A black-clothed ninja appeared on the field. "Now I play the magic card Shadow Shift!"

"Shadow Shift?" Adriel's eyes widened in memory.

"_We'll see about that." Ichigo drew. "Then again…we'll see about that right now! First I play The Warrior Returning Alive! This magic card lets me take back one warrior monster." Catching a card spat out of his graveyard, Ichigo slapped it down. "Cyber Shadow-Shifter in attack mode!" The ninja reappeared on his field. "Then the magic card Shadow Shift! When played, this card will force all attack mode monsters into defense mode." All three of the monsters on the field slid into crouching positions. "As an added bonus, I may sacrifice Shifter to summon a different Cyber Shadow from my deck! Emerge now, my mighty Cyber Shadow-King of Swords!" (2600/2300) The ninja vanished. In its place stood a lone figure with a pair of blades attached to its forearms. Opening its eyes, it looked at the Water Dragon appraisingly. "Perhaps you can offer me a challenge…"_

"That's right…" Akuma pointed at Adriel's set card. "First…" The card flipped up and a clone of Shifter appeared on the field in a crouching position. "So you had a Physical Double trap card face-down huh?" He pointed at Magnum Crasher Dragon and its folded its wings in on itself. "Now then…" Shifter slid into defense mode and then disappeared. In its place stood a tall imposing figure with forearm blades attached. _"The dragon son…it is you…"_ King of Swords closed its eyes, ashamed at what it was being used for.

Adriel grimaced. ("King of Swords…")

Akuma pointed at Magnum Crasher Dragon. "Attack now!" The warrior shimmered and the steel dragon exploded into dust. (3100/2300) "End turn." The false Shifter exploded.

Adriel closed his eyes and clenched his fist. ("Man…")

* * *

Ichigo's hands clenched so tightly that the knuckles turned white. "Come on Adriel…I know you can do it!" 

Luna sat at the edge of the pool and watched the scene with a calm demeanor. ("The host of brother Jin…please win.")

* * *

Adriel drew. He looked at the card…and smiled coldly. "You're good…but nothing like my key rival. Ichigo Pilkington…he is beyond you!" His field magic card popped out and Element Dragon and Divine Dragon Ragnarok appeared on the field and roared. "Dragon's Haven lets me sacrifice it to special summon two level four or lower dragons from my graveyard to the field!" He pointed at both of them. "And now I sacrifice these two monsters!" Both disappeared in a whirlwind of fire. "Come out now Tyrant Dragon (2900/2500) and bring forth death amongst my foe!" A huge brown dragon appeared on the field and roared loudly. "One of the dragon lords…" 

Akuma sneered… "King of Swords will destroy your pitiful dragon…"

"Oh really?" The half dragon demon smirked and held his field magic card slot open. "Now then…I play the field magic card Dragon's Kingdom!" All around him huge golden spires rose up into the sky, lighting up the night. "In this field, the power of all dragons in play is raised by 500." (3400/2500) "Tyrant Dragon, unleash your flames!" The dragon sprayed the warrior with fire and blew it apart. "End turn."

Adriel- 1500

Akuma- 700

Akuma drew. "I summon Cyber Shadow Berserker in defense mode." The wild warrior appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Also, I set one card face-down. End turn."

Adriel drew. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." He slid two cards off of his deck and fanned out his three hand cards. "Go now Tyrant Dragon, attack now!"

"Reveal Mirror Force!" A barrier of light sprang up, stopped the attack, and blew the king dragon apart.

Adriel growled and slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Akuma drew. "I summon Blademaster in attack mode and switch Berserker into attack mode." The monster stood up and both of them lifted their weapons. "Cut him down!" Both monsters charged towards Adriel.

"Reveal Zero Gravity!" Adriel pointed at his now face-up trap card. "All face-up monsters in play switch modes!" Both Cyber Shadows went into defense.

Akuma narrowed his eyes. "End turn!"

Adriel drew. "I summon Larva Dragon (1200/900) to the field in attack mode!" A little pale-skinned dragon whelp appeared on the field. "Now I play the magic card Dragon's Secret Lore." The little dragon disappeared. "This magic card lets me special summon one dragon from my deck to the field if I sacrifice a face-up dragon in play. This dragon's level is the level of the sacrificed dragon plus two." A huge dragon appeared on the field and roared. "Young Drill Dragon (2900/1700) in attack mode!" The dragon had drills all over its body and charged across the field to pierce through Blademaster's armor. "End turn!"

Akuma drew. "I summon Cyber Shadow Retriever (1500/1000) in defense mode" A silver-colored crab robot appeared on the field in a crouching position. "End turn."

Adriel drew. "I play the continuous magic card Dragon's Legendary Journey. Young Drill Dragon, attack now!" The monster dove across the field and pierced the body of Berserker, shattering it. "End turn."

Akuma drew. "First I play Fusion Sage to add one Polymerization card from my deck to my hand." He removed a card from his deck and added it to his hand. "End turn."

Adriel drew. "I set one card face-down and attack with Young Drill Dragon!" The dragon pierced the Retriever's shell and blew it apart. "End turn!" ("I'm winning…he's running out of cards…")

Akuma slid Retriever into the graveyard. "Now I take one Cyber Shadow from my graveyard and add it my hand." After holding up Blademaster, he drew. "Now I activate the effect of Cyber Shadow Mainframe." The continuous card exploded and Retriever along with King of Swords appeared on the field in crouching positions. "Now that I have special summoned these monsters, your dragon will fall to my equipment magic card! Go Special Operative Weapon Stinger!" A rocket launcher appeared on the shoulder of Retriever. "Now Young Drill Dragon will be destroyed!" A rocket left the weapon and flew towards Adriel's weapon.

Adriel pointed at his set card. "Burst Breath lets me sacrifice Drill Dragon to destroy all monsters in play with defense lower than its attack!" The dragon sprayed both of Akuma's monsters with fire and they exploded along with it.

* * *

Ichigo thrust his fist into the air and grinned. "Good going Adriel! With Burst Breath you've evened out the playing field!"

Alahandra whistled at the image of the grimacing Adriel. "Come on Adriel! Push him back, push him back, way back!"

Luna closed her eyes and felt out with her power. ("I feel the energy…I know the truth. I'm amazed Ichigo doesn't understand Adriel's folly.")

* * *

Akuma smirked. "You just lost. From my hand I activate Polymerization!"

Adriel nearly choked on his tongue as he realized that huge mistake he had made. ("Oh no…")

Akuma held up two cards. "Blademaster and Assassin fuse to create Special Operative Fox!" (2200/2000) A steel armored ninja appeared on the field, its single red eyes glowing in contrast to the golden light of Dragon Kingdom. "If you remember correctly this monster can attack twice."

Adriel closed his eyes and pointed at Dragon's Legendary Journey. "I sacrifice this card to special summon two Dragon Child Tokens (0/500) in defense mode." A pair of dragon hatchlings appeared on the field. "I won't be taken down by you if I can avoid it."

"Fox, attack them both!" The ninja leapt from one hatchling to another, cutting them down before it returned to Akuma's field. "End turn."

Adriel drew. "I play the magic card Fossil Emergence." Fire Tongue Raptor appeared on the field in a crouching position. "This card returns one dinosaur monster to the field in defense mode." He motioned to the spires around him. "Dragon Kingdom lets me sacrifice one non-Token dragon or dinosaur to draw a card!" The Raptor disappeared and he drew. "Now I set one monster face-down on the field and end my turn."

Akuma drew. "Fox, attack the set monster and then his life points directly!" The warrior snapped its katana through the set monster, which exploded. "Now you lose."

"Are you so certain?" Adriel pointed at his field. "You should look before you leap, Akuma. Child of the Grand (1000/1000) lets me special summon Grand Emperor Dragon!" (2500/2500) A huge gold and silver dragon appeared on the field in a crouching position. "So there…"

Akuma snarled and slid two cards into his disk. "I set two cards face-down. End turn."

Adriel drew slowly, a cold smile on his face. "Let me give you a taste of what I felt when you took down my father! First I switch Grand Emperor Dragon into attack mode!" The dragon stretched its wings and roared into the night sky. "Now I summon Spear Dragon (2400/0) in attack mode." A blue-nosed angular dragon appeared in play. "Since a dragon was summoned Grand Emperor Dragon gains 500!" (3000/2500) "Now, attack with Solar Stream!" The Emperor opened its jaws and released a blast of pure solar energy towards the steel ninja.

"Reveal Narrow Escape!" Akuma pointed at one of his set cards and Fox leapt aside, the attack shooting off into the existence.

Adriel pointed again. "Spear Flash!" Spear Dragon sprayed energy from its mouth at the ninja.

"Reveal Emergency Alarm!" A blast of sound spotted the energy and Akuma took a card from his graveyard and added it to his hand. "I pick up Shifter."

Adriel looked at the monster in his hand. "End turn."

* * *

Alahandra leapt up and down, cheering. "He's used up all of his trap cards!"

Luna's eyes opened. "In the next turn Adriel will lose."

Ichigo frowned. "First Akuma will summon Shifter. Then he'll use Shifter's Trickery to draw three cards. After that he'll use Fusion Return to pick up Polymerization. Next will be Reinforcements of the Army to search his deck for Cyber Shadow Soldier. Then he'll use Polymerization to fuse Fox and Soldier into Lord of Knives. Using Lord of Knives' effect he'll destroy Dragon Kingdom and Grand Emperor Dragon. Then he'll attack the weakened Spear Dragon with Lord of Knives. His last move will be the attack by Shifter for game." He closed his eyes. "Thank you for trying with all of your heart Adriel. But I don't expect anyone but me to defeat him. The Cyber Shadow cards he uses are my responsibility…and I will defeat them."

Alahandra stared at Ichigo like he was crazy. "You…how do you know for sure that is what will happen?"

"Because that's exactly what I would do in that situation. Akuma will be in a big surprise if he thinks that he can win using a set of cards that I have learned every strategy for." Ichigo looked down at his duel disk and the Shining Force deck. "Such strange monsters…but I'll put them to good use."

Luna stood up and nodded to him. "Your body is fully healed. You can leave at any time you wish."

"I'll be leaving now." Ichigo glanced back at Alahandra. "Hey, it's good to know why I was acting so weird in my girl form."

Alahandra hugged him tightly. "Please don't die…Luna can't bring you back this time."

"I won't lose…" Ichigo looked down at his deck one more time. ("I must conquer my past or we won't have a future.")

* * *

Akuma drew. "Tell me boy…do you think you can succeed where your father failed?" He held up the two cards of his hand. "Because deep within your heart you know the truth about this duel. Something about this deck radiates a power that has beaten you once before." His hand lifted up and placed one of the cards down. "First I summon Shifter!" The black-clothed ninja appeared on the field. "Then I play Shifter's Trickery. This magic card lets me draw three cards when Shifter is in play." Sliding three cards off of his deck, the giant smirked.

Adriel felt a drop of cold sweat slide down his cheek. ("What's this feeling? It's…")

Akuma held up a card. "First I play Fusion Return. This magic card lets me take one Polymerization card from my graveyard and add it to my hand."

Eri felt fear grip her heart. She knew all too well what was going to happen next. ("A new fusion…")

Akuma flipped a card up. "Now I use Reinforcements of the Army to search my deck for Cyber Shadow Soldier." A cold wind blew through the clearing. "Tell me…do you understand?"

"Lord of Knives…" The name was like acid of the half dragon demon's tongue. "No…"

"Yes." Akuma held up Polymerization and Soldier. "Fuse together now…create Lord of Knives!" A vortex swallowed up the cards and Fox. And from within that vortex emerged the mighty fusion. _"Son of the Dragon…forgive me."_ He threw his knives and destroyed the Dragon Kingdom and Grand Emperor Dragon. (2800/2300)

Adriel looked back at Eri. "Make sure someone comes here to stop this guy. From the looks of it I've lost to Ichigo again." He sighed. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by it at all."

"Silence mortal! Lord of Knives, attack now!" The warrior threw a wave of knives that slashed through Spear Dragon and blew it apart.

Adriel- 600

Akuma- 700

Adriel closed his eyes. ("Father…forgive me…") He was already before Shifter's knife stabbed right into his chest.

Adriel- 0

Akuma- 700

Eri turned and ran. She was a creature of the night herself…but this thing was something from a different world. It was impossible…

Akuma watched her move as if in slow motion. Every step she took gave him time to count the number of leaves on a tree. ("It's not even worth the time…but I shall do it. For if I can kill them all then I shall free from Master Midnight's service.") He started to walk in the direction she was running. "Come and fight girl. Come and die."

Eri stumbled through some trees and found soft moonlight as she reached the edge of the forest. ("I have to get help. I can't duel him until someone knows what's going on.")

"Oh little girl…come and fight." Akuma stepped through the covering of the forest like a shadow and grabbed her by the back of the neck.

Eri gasped in surprise and kicked as hard as she could to get away. "LET ME GO!"

"By the power of the darkness I begin this game of darkness. Let the…"

"Hey Akuma!"

The giant turned his head to look at the speaker. "It's you…the one from before."

Ichigo stood facing off against the being that represented that hatred that was part of him just a few hours ago. "You and me, right now." He lifted his arm…and blinked in surprise. ("My right arm is back…")

_("Consider it a gift for being such a good sport.")_

Ichigo smiled slightly and then went stone-faced. "By the power of the Dark Halo, I overlap your challenge with one of my own."

Akuma grunted as he was forced to let Eri go by the power of the Shadow judges. "So you know of the laws of the darkness games…"

Ichigo lifted his arm to reveal a duel disk. It clicked into place and he slammed his deck into place. "Enough talk. I'm sick of you."

Akuma activated his duel disk. "Prepare to feel the pain of my deck."

"You're wrong." Ichigo closed his eyes. "Snake…King of Swords…Lord of Knives…I shall put their souls to rest right here and right now! Let the duel begin!"

Ichigo- 4000

Akuma- 4000

_To be continued…_

_Ichigo…can you win? I know these new Shining Force monsters are tough, but these are the Cyber Shadows. You know how powerful they are, and…_

_**I will win. Because if I lose there won't be a future for any of us.**_

_Next Episode: Past vs. Future; Cyber Shadow vs. Shining Force_

To Raine: Thanks for that. Let's see…perhaps Ichigo will win…

To Seeker of the Soul: I answered the question for you already.

To Darkstar: He might be taken down…

To Hogwarts-Knight: Akuma's energy isn't something Hitokage can drain. Even compared to Sestros it is too destructive for anyone to contain without dying…unless you're trained for it.

To Gryphinwyrm: No, I agree.

To john: Indeed it is great.

To G.O.T. Nick: Lost your spirits have you?

To Sinister: Well thank you very much.

To BLS: Adriel tried as hard as he could, but it's like dueling Ichigo when he uses the Cyber Shadows. It's nearly impossible to defeat.

To Bobbomp: I'm going to assume you're mad…

To Anime Albino: Ichigo had best hope so.

To Dais: Sorry buddy, but Curse is stronger than Akuma.

To falcon demon general: Well he was close. And yeah, he has tried lots of combinations.

To Redphoenix: It isn't the original deck. It's a copy created by remains of Ichigo's soul that he gathered after beating him.

To The White Mage: He's strong as ever. Of course….


	12. Past vs Future Cyber Shadow vs Shining F...

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 12: Past vs. Future; Cyber Shadows vs. Shining Force

_Ichigo smiled slightly and then went stone-faced. "By the power of the Dark Halo, I overlap your challenge with one of my own."_

_Akuma grunted as he was forced to let Eri go by the power of the Shadow judges. "So you know of the laws of the darkness games…"_

_Ichigo lifted his arm to reveal a duel disk. It clicked into place and he slammed his deck into place. "Enough talk. I'm sick of you."_

_Akuma activated his duel disk. "Prepare to feel the pain of my deck."_

"_You're wrong." Ichigo closed his eyes. "Snake…King of Swords…Lord of Knives…I shall put their souls to rest right here and right now! Let the duel begin!"_

_Ichigo- 4000_

_Akuma- 4000_

Lightning crashed down between both of them. Hazel eyes met red ones…and a few drops of rain fell to the earth, as dark clouds gathered.

Eri watched in amazement. It was strange…Ichigo looked different. It was as if he weaker and yet stronger at the same time. She also noticed something about his clothing…his Fenrir Black jacket was now a glittering gold and white.

Akuma's dark gi blended in perfectly with the night…and the only light was from his eyes and teeth. "Boy…I will kill you and give your soul to the darkness."

Ichigo felt a drop of rain fall onto his head. "Like I said…duel."

They drew their hands.

* * *

Davis ran towards the location where the storm clouds were, his eyes locked straight ahead. ("I can't let them fall…they're too important…")

* * *

Akuma fanned out his cards. "I go first." He drew. "Cyber Shadow Soldier!" (1600/1600) The medium-sized warrior appeared on the field in defense mode. "Also, I set one card face-down and end my turn."

"Nice start, but it's my turn!" Ichigo drew. "First I play Polymerization!" He held up two cards. "Shining Force-Hyperion and Shining Force-Gale Spirit Ryu fuse together!" A dragon armored warrior with a vacuum cleaner-like device on one arm appeared on the field. "Shining Force-Spirit Galion!" (1800/1200)

Akuma blinked in surprise at the monster. "It's the creature from before."

"Spirit Galion's special ability lets it switch the modes of any monsters in play before it attacks!" Ichigo pointed at Soldier. "Tempest Cannon!" A tornado flew from the warrior's weapon towards the crouching Cyber Shadow.

"Reveal Shadow Barrier!" Akuma sneered. "This counter trap negates any effect that targets a Cyber Shadow in play and destroys the source!"

Ichigo snapped a card into his disk. "From my hand I activate the counter quickplay magic card Shining Luck! This card negates one effect that targets a Shining Force monster and destroys it!" Shadow Barrier exploded into dust and Soldier stood up. "Attack now!" A green blast of air hit Soldier and blew it apart. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Ichigo- 4000

Akuma- 3800

Akuma drew. "I play Electric Animators to revive Soldier in defense." The warrior appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Also, I set one card face-down. End turn."

Ichigo drew. "From my hand I play Pot of Greed!" He drew two cards. "Now I summon Shining Force-Firestorm Cobra (1400/1100) in attack mode!" An explosion of fire rocketed up alongside Spirit Galion. It formed into a snake that hissed and then writhed around the fusion warrior. "Its special ability lets me union it to one warrior in play!" It curled around Spirit Galion's arm and seared into the bare skin, becoming a tattoo. "The equipped monster's attack power goes up by 700!" (2500/1200) "Spirit Galion, Tempest Cannon!" The warrior released a tornado that slammed into Soldier and forced it to stand up. "Firestorm Fist!" The Cyber Shadow was sent flying by a flaming punch from the fusion warrior. "Also, the effect of Firestorm Cobra doubles the amount of damage that the equipped monster does to your life points. End turn."

Ichigo- 4000

Akuma- 2000

Akuma clenched his fist and drew. "You little bastard…" He slammed a card down. "I summon Cyber Shadow Trainer (300/1200) in defense mode and set one card face-down. End turn." A grizzled old man in a black bodysuit appeared on the field in a crouching position.

Ichigo drew. "Go Spirit Galion! Tempest Cannon!" A tornado slammed into Trainer and forced it to stand up. "Now Firestorm Fist!"

"Reverse card open!" Akuma pointed at one of his set cards. "I activate Emergency Alarm to end your attack and pick up Soldier from my graveyard."

Ichigo glanced at his hand. "End turn."

Akuma drew. "Now I play my Pot of Greed." He drew two cards. "Now I play Polymerization to fuse Soldier and Charger together." A warrior holding a huge battering ram with a jet engine attached to it appeared on the field. "Cyber Shadow Jet Charger. (3500/0) attack his monster now!"

"Reverse card open!" Ichigo pointed at his set card. "Shining Aura!" Spirit Galion was struck by the battering ram and was sent skidding backwards…but otherwise was alright. "This card will only work if I have no other monsters in play. One Shining Force monster will be protected from death by battle as long as it is in attack mode."

Ichigo- 2500

Akuma- 2000

Akuma grimaced. "Jet Charger switches into defense mode." The warrior dropped to one knee and held its battering ram up in front of it. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Ichigo drew. "It's my turn now." He pointed at Trainer. "I'll still finish you off! Attack now with Firestorm Fist!" Spirit Galion's fist exploded into flames and it charged.

"Reveal Alert Tripwire!" One of Akuma's set cards flipped up. "This quickplay magic card will negate your attack and let me draw a card for every Cyber Shadow in play." He drew twice, and when he looked at the drawn cards he sneered.

Ichigo slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down on the field. End turn."

Akuma drew. "I set one monster face-down on the field and switch Jet Charger into attack mode!" The warrior stood up. "Attack now!" It launched towards Spirit Galion.

"Reveal face-down card!" Ichigo's set card flipped up and energy flowed around his warrior. "Shining Charge increases the attack of one Shining Force in play by 1000, and it also lets me draw one card." He slid the top card off of his deck. (3500/1200) "Fight back Spirit Galion! Firestorm Fist!" Both monsters collided and exploded into dust. Shining Aura shattered.

Akuma snickered. "Did you forget that when Jet Charger is destroyed as a result of battle that I can destroy one monster in play?"

"No, I didn't." Ichigo slid Firestorm Cobra into the graveyard.

Akuma looked at his hand again. "After I switch Trainer into defense mode I end my turn."

Ichigo felt more rain hit his head, but he didn't react to it. His attention was completely on this duel. ("So far I'm staying alive…but he has the advantage…")

Eri, who had moved under the shelter of the trees, clenched her hands together tightly. "Please…Ichigo. Give it your best."

Ichigo heard that…and chuckled. "It's my turn now, draw." He looked at the drawn card. "I summon Shining Force-Marble Guard (800/2000) in defense mode." A white marble statue appeared on his field in a crouching position. "End turn."

Akuma drew. "I flip up Cyber Shadow Screamer (350/650) into attack mode." A little metal box with legs appeared in play. "Now I take back one Polymerization and one Cyber Shadow." He held up Soldier and the magic card. "Tell me something…are you ready to die?"

"You first."

Akuma slid a card into his disk. "I activate Polymerization! Fuse together Cyber Shadow Berserker and Trainer to create Cyber Shadow Cutter!" (2100/1200) A warrior holding a laser chainsaw appeared on the field.

Ichigo's eyes widened. ("Cutter…the damage dealer of the Cyber Shadows…")

Akuma slapped down another card. "Now I summon Soldier!" The medium warrior appeared alongside the stronger fusion. "Cutter, attack with Berserk Slash-down!" The chainsaw blade slashed along Marble Guard hundreds of times, and then it blew apart. "When Cutter destroys a monster as a result of battle you lose life points equal to the destroyed monster's attack!"

Ichigo- 1700

Akuma- 2000

Ichigo stumbled. "When Marble Guard is destroyed as a result of battle…all battle damage to me for the rest of this turn is halved."

"Soldier and Screamer attack you directly regardless!" The medium warrior fired a beam of black light that slammed into Ichigo's chest, followed up by an echoing scream that left him clutching his sensitive ears.

Ichigo- 725

Akuma- 2000

Akuma sneered. "I'm far from done. I set two cards face-down and play Mirage of Nightmare. End turn."

Ichigo clutched at his chest where the beam had burned in… ("The future…") He stood up and drew. "It's my turn now…"

Akuma pointed at Mirage of Nightmare. "The effect of Mirage of Nightmare lets me draw until I have four cards in my hand." He drew four cards off of his deck.

Ichigo looked at his hand…and then up at the giant who stood where he once stood. ("I must defeat my past…I must win!") "I summon Shining Force-Element Commander!" (700/500) A cyborg in steel grey armor appeared on the field. "When I have no other cards in play I draw twice." Looking at the drawn cards he grinned. "I activate Polymerization!" A swirling vortex appeared in the air above him. "Shining Force-Dark Reaper, Spell Binder, and Element Commander fuse together!" A dark-clothed reaper and a dark-clothed mage appeared on both sides of Element Commander and they were sucked into the vortex. "Shining Force-Dark Skull Mage (2700/2500) is summoned!"

A hooded mage-like stood on the field. In one hand rested a black steel staff with a purple jewel on top that was glowing with energy of its own. _"This time I won't be leaving so quickly."_

Akuma gasped in surprise. ("That monster again…")

"Black Skull Mage's special ability lets me lower the attack of one monster in play by the number of monsters in my graveyard times 100 plus 300!" (1100) The spellcaster pointed its staff at Cutter and blasted it. (1000/1200) "Dark Skull Mage, Dark Skull Burning!" A fireball leapt out of the mage's staff and slammed into the fusion's chest, shattering it.

The fireball kept going and slammed right into Akuma's chest, burning a hole in his gi and dropping him to one knee.

Ichigo- 725

Akuma- 300

Ichigo smiled slightly. "You're powerful…but I'm not giving up. I swore that I would stop you and the Cyber Shadows, and that is exactly what I will do. I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Akuma stood up. "At the end phase of your turn I activate Emergency Provisions." Mirage of Nightmare and two of the set cards disappeared.

Ichigo- 725

Akuma- 3300

Ichigo didn't react. He knew that was going to happen.

Akuma drew. "Boy…you think that these monsters should be destroyed?"

Ichigo shook his head. "No, but they are my enemies now. I can't let them hurt those that I care about."

The giant chuckled. "Weak sentiments from a weak duelist. For now I switch my monsters into defense mode and summon Cyber Shadow Shield Bearer (0/2400) in defense mode." A man holding a huge riot shield in front of him appeared in play. "Also, I set one card face-down on the field. End turn."

Ichigo drew. ("I need to stop him from defending.") He looked at the drawn card and a calm smile came across his face. ("That will work.") "I activate Monster Reborn!"

Akuma growled as he saw Spirit Galion appear on the field. "That monster…"

Ichigo smiled as the dragon warrior lowered onto the field next to Dark Skull Mage. "I see that you understand your problem. Spirit Galion, Tempest Cannon!" A tornado slammed into all of the defenders and they all stood up in attack mode.

Eri grinned and hopped up and down happily. "Alright!"

"I've got your number." Ichigo pointed at Soldier. "I use the effect of Dark Skull Mage!" (1000) (600/1600) "And I'll summon Shining Force-Heal Angel (1600/0) in attack mode!" An angel in medic's clothing slowly lowered onto the field. "Attack Shield Bearer!" She pulled a huge syringe from out of nowhere and ran through the monster. Then it flew over to Akuma and stabbed him right in the chest with the enormous needle.

"Blasted little…" The giant shivered as he felt his life sucked out of him.

Heal Angel landed next to Ichigo and the syringe shrank to a normal size. He rolled back his sleeve and she injected him in the arm with a glowing gold liquid. "When this monster deals you life point damage I gain that much life."

Ichigo- 2325

Akuma- 1700

Akuma dropped to one knee and clutched at his chest. "You little….bastard…"

Ichigo pointed at Soldier. "Spirit Galion, attack now!" The warrior flapped his wings a few times and a blast of wind slammed into the Cyber Shadow, shattering it.

Ichigo- 2325

Akuma- 500

Akuma grabbed his chest and dropped like a sack of rocks to the wet grass. Drops of blood dribbled out of his mouth to the moist grass.

Ichigo closed his eyes. "The final blow. Dark Skull Burning!" The Dark Skull Mage snapped up its staff and pointed the weapon at Screamer. _"Farewell."_

"Reverse…card open!" Akuma's set card flipped up. "Shadow Force!"

Ichigo's eyes widened as a silver barrier sprang up and stopped the attack. "No…" (3050/650)

Akuma stumbled to his feet and wiped away some blood. "That's right…this trap card negates your attack and adds the attack of your monster to Screamer."

Ichigo frowned. "End turn."

Akuma drew. ("I have conquered the trials of hell…you cannot beat me boy. I am the hell supreme…") He looked at the drawn card. "First Monster Reborn revives one monster from my graveyard. Return now Trainer." The grizzled old man appeared on the field.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. ("The fusion substitute…")

Akuma held up Polymerization. "Come out now…" King of Swords appeared in play and saw Ichigo. _"Ichigo…"_

The half demon's eyes widened. ("No….") "King of Swords…"

Akuma pointed at Trainer. "Fuse with this monster now!" Both warriors were pulled into a vortex of energy. "King Wolf Swordsman (2600/2000) is summoned." A powerful warrior with a sword held over one shoulder lowered onto the field. "This monster can attack all monsters in play! Screamer, attack Dark Skull Mage!" The little box started to build up a screeching noise…

"Reveal Negate Attack!" Ichigo's set card flipped up. "This trap will negate your attack and end your battle phase!" Screamer's charging energy died down.

Akuma slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Ichigo drew. "I've got you beaten! Dark Skull Mage's special ability activates!" (1000) The spellcaster aimed its staff at Screamer and hit it with a beam of energy. (2050/650) "Attack now! Dark Skull Burning!"

"Reveal Negate Attack!" Akuma's face-down card flipped up and the spellcaster lowered its staff.

Ichigo looked at his hand and then at the field. ("Great…") Spirit Galion folded its wings in front of it and so did Heal Angel. "I switch these two into defense mode. End turn."

Akuma drew…the top card sliding off of his deck while rain poured down around them. And yet neither of their cards was affected by the water…as if even the elements knew not to interfere. "You…I grow tired of you."

"And I grow tired of you." Ichigo smiled slightly. "But I think that are getting more tired of the fact that you have taken so much damage…"

Akuma shook his head to clear it. "I will not lose to a mortal!" He held up the drawn card. "Card of Sanctity forces us both to draw until we hold six cards!" He drew six while Ichigo drew four. As he fanned out his hand…he sneered. "Boy…you said that these cards were once yours. Well then you should know why I am smiling…"

Ichigo clenched his fist. ("There's only one possibility…")

Akuma pointed at the monsters on his field. "I sacrifice these two useless monsters now." Both King Wolf Swordsman and Screamer disappeared. "And summon Steel Titan Nightmare!"

"What?" Ichigo's eyes snapped wide. "That's impossible…there's no such thing!"

A giant jet black horse-shaped robot appeared on the field and roared, slamming its treads into the ground. (2700/2400)

Ichigo looked at the thing…and frowned. "A perverse version of my monsters…"

"Nightmare, when summoned, forces me to either discard three cards from my hand or take 1000 damage per card I choose not to discard!" Akuma slammed three cards into his graveyard. "And when this monster is tribute summoned all face-up monsters in play are destroyed!"

Ichigo braced himself as all three of his monsters exploded into dust. "No…everyone…" Without skipping more than a beat he grabbed two cards out of his graveyard. "When Dark Skull Mage is destroyed two of its fusion components are special summoned one after another!" Element Commander and then Dark Reaper appeared on the field in crouching positions. "And because Element Commander was summoned I draw two cards!"

"It doesn't matter! Because Nightmare can attack twice!" The horse machine sprayed both of Ichigo's monsters with flames and burned them to ash. Akuma took a card from his hand and slid it into his disk. "Now I set one card face-down on the field. End turn."

Ichigo looked down at his deck…and then at his hand. ("Everyone is counting on me to win….and that's exactly what I will do.")

_To be continued…_

_Eri here. Ichigo's doing well…but Akuma refuses to fall. And now he has this new Steel Titan in play. I still don't know a lot about Ichigo's new Shining Force monsters, and I don't think that he knows that much about them either. But he has to win…he has to._

_Next Episode: Ascension; Awaken Dark Angelica_

To Rex: I leave it to you whether he is doing well or not so far.

To Seeker of the Soul: I know that is has been a big let down so far, but don't worry. It will pick up now and later.

To G.O.T. Nick: Yeah….the rocks didn't work. Next time we need some good old-fashioned land mines.

To Star: Huh? You lost me on that last sentence.

To falcon demon general: You'll take him on hmm?


	13. Awaken Dark Angelica

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 13: Ascension; Awaken Dark Angelica

Ichigo felt the rain down his cheeks, and wiped some excess water from his eyes.

Across the field Akuma took deep shuddering breaths, the air around his lips misting. On his field stood the giant black form of Steel Titan Nightmare. And behind it was a single set card. He had only one card in his hand, but with Nightmare's ability to attack twice this duel was already close to done.

Ichigo fanned out the eight cards in his hand. Then he looked down at his deck. "It's my turn now. Draw." Holding the ninth card up to his eyes, he looked at Nightmare and frowned. ("I don't know enough about this deck to make unnecessary risks trying to fuse monsters…") Sliding two cards into the slots of his disk, he blinked up at the red metal eyes of Nightmare and shivered. ("And I thought that Rex was scary…that thing is meant to cause fear.") "I set two cards face-down on the field."

Akuma's blood red eyes shimmered in the night as he waited to see what Ichigo was going to do.

The half demon looked at the monster cards in his hand. A couple of them he remembered from last time…and then he finally decided. "I set one monster face-down on the field. End turn."

Akuma drew. "Nightmare…attack with Fires of Hell!" Flames exploded out of the machine's nostrils as it cooked the set monster.

Ichigo pointed at burning mass that was his card. "I activate the effect of Ebb Tide Mimic Octopus!" (300/250) A strange pale octopus appeared on the field and shrugged off the fire. "When this monster is attacked while face-down the attack is negated and it transforms into an exact clone of the flipped up monster." (2700/2400) It disappeared and a copy of Nightmare appeared on the field.

Akuma growled and slid a card into his disk. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon from my hand on that card!" He pointed at one of Ichigo's set cards.

Ichigo pointed at the card. "And in response I activate my Mystical Space Typhoon!" A blast of wind flew from his own set card that hit the face-down card on Akuma's field and shattered it.

Akuma slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Ichigo frowned as Mimic Octopus exploded into dust. "At the end phase of this turn my monster is destroyed by its own effect." He drew. "I summon Shining Force-Jungle Fighter (1500/1200) to the field in defense mode." A giant wild-haired man holding a stone-tipped spear appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Then I set one card face-down and end my turn." ("I'm running out of options…but for now I can only defend.")

Akuma drew. "From my hand I play The Warrior Returning Alive." He removed a card from his graveyard. "This magic card lets me take back one warrior type monster and add it to my hand." Grabbing Berserker, he threw it down and a wild warrior with a toothed sword appeared on the field. "Attack now!" The monster leapt across the field towards the Jungle Fighter.

"Reverse card open!" Ichigo pointed at one of his set cards. "Shining Barrier lets me negate one attack against a Shining Force monster in play. Also, this card lets me gain 2000 life points." Energy flowed around his form as a golden shield started to appear in front of his monster.

Akuma pointed at his own set card. "Tell me something…" When the card flipped up he chuckled. "Have you ever done this before? I activate Shadow Theft." Shining Barrier shimmered onto his field and then shattered. "The battle continues…go Berserker!"

Jungle Fighter cried out in pain as the weapon slashed across its chest and blew it apart.

Ichigo paled. ("I should have known…")

Akuma pointed at Ichigo. "Nightmare, attack now with Flames of Hell!" Fire exploded out of the horse's nostrils towards Ichigo.

The half demon snapped his hand out over his set card. "I activate the quickplay magic card Energy Matrix!" A glowing pyramid of gold light appeared around him. "This card lets me protect myself when a Shining Force monster is destroyed as a result of battle. I also draw one card." He drew. "Now I can shuffle any number of cards in my hand into my deck to gain 1000 life points per card." Snapping two cards up, he shuffled them into his deck.

Ichigo- 4325

Akuma- 500

Akuma snarled. "End turn."

Ichigo looked down at his deck and smiled. "Draw." Removing the top card off of his deck, he took it and two others. "I set three cards face-down." Three cards appeared on the field in front of him. "Now I play Mirage of Dreams!" The continuous magic card that appeared on his field had a picture of a sleeping man with numerous ghostly spirits flowing around him. "Now I shuffle my graveyard." A whirring noise came from within his graveyard slot.

Akuma let a rumbling laughter out of his chest.

Ichigo looked at the remaining card in his hand. ("This will work…") "I summon Shining Force-Thunder Mistress!" (1500/1600) Lightning crashed down onto the field and a female form rose up from the arching lightning. Her blond hair fell limply around her side and she stretched her rubber bodysuit. "This monster, when summoned, can destroy one monster in play if I have no cards in my hand!" Lightning arched from her body and slammed into Nightmare, blowing it apart. "End turn."

Akuma drew.

Ichigo pointed at Mirage of Dreams. "During your standby phase I draw the bottom four cards of my graveyard!" Four cards were slid out of his graveyard and he added them to his hand.

"During your standby phase you'll have to remove an equal number of cards from your hand to out of play." Akuma slapped a card down. "I summon Cyber Shadow Blademaster (2000/1600) in attack mode." The dual sword warrior floated down and landed next to Berserker. "Attack Thunder Mistress now!" It snapped up its swords and launched towards the woman.

"Reveal face-down card!" One of Ichigo's set cards flipped up. "Shining Bomb!" A huge metal bomb appeared on the field, energy flowing through veins in its steel shell. "I activate Emergency Provisions!" The bomb exploded in a flash of fire and smoke that blew both his monster and Akuma's monster apart. All of the smoke was sucked into the Emergency Provisions card, and then Mirage of Dreams broke apart. "Shining Bomb activates when you declare an attack against a Shining Force monster that I have in play. Both the attacking monster and my monster are destroyed."

Ichigo- 6325

Akuma- 500

Akuma pointed at Ichigo. "Blademaster, direct attack!" The warrior nearly danced towards the half demon, right before it slashed one blade across his stomach and then slashed the other blade across his neck, dropping him to his knees. "End turn."

Ichigo- 4325

Akuma- 500

Ichigo clutched at his chest. "It hurts…" Taking a deep breath, he stood up weakly and drew. ("I need to overcome this guy…") Looking at his drawn card, he added it to his hand and held up another card. "I activate Pot of Greed." After drawing two cards, he looked at one of the two new pictures and looked like he was almost going to laugh. ("I'll laugh later. For now though, I need to figure out how to get past Blademaster. It has too much attack power for me to overcome with the monsters in my hand.")

Akuma knew the look of thought that crossed the boy's face. "What's the matter? Don't you think that you can win?"

"I'm thinking. So how about you relax…" Ichigo blinked in surprise as he looked at his hand again. ("Of course…") "I summon Shining Force-Blizzard Lizard!" (1500/1000) A frilled lizard made of ice appeared in play.

"What in the world…?" Akuma almost was about to laugh…but something about the smile on Ichigo's face told him that it wasn't a good idea.

The half demon snapped a pair of cards up. "I activate Polymerization. Now I fuse Shining Force-Blizzard Lizard and Shining Force-Ebb Tide Mimic Octopus together." The pale mollusk appeared on the field alongside the icy lizard and both were sucked into a vortex of energy. "Come out now, Shining Force-Mist Chameleon!" (2300/2350) A pale white chameleon appeared on the field in front of him. "Attack now with Mist Spray!" The lizard sprayed out a spear of hot steam that slashed into the warrior and tore it apart. "Also, I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Ichigo- 4325

Akuma- 200

Akuma clenched his fists…and then fell to his knees. "How are you…doing this?"

"The Cyber Shadows can't beat their original user." Ichigo pointed at his enemy. "And therefore you can't defeat me."

The giant stumbled to his feet. "I've defeated too many of you…I'll take you down!" He drew. "I play the magic card Hand Balance! This card lets me draw until I have the same number of cards in my hand that you do." He drew twice and slapped one card down onto the field. "Cyber Shadow Shifter (800/1200) comes out!" The black-clothed warrior appeared on the field.

Ichigo's eyes widened. "The other card…"

Akuma held it up. "Shifter's Trickery lets me draw three cards." Sliding three cards off of his deck, he sneered. "This will hurt you quite a lot. First I play Fusion Gate!" Up above them both the sky started to twist and warp. "Now I play Silent Rebirth." Soldier appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Now I fuse Cyber Shadow Assassin, Soldier and Shifter together to create Cyber Shadow Rayden!" (2800/2000) A white-haired warrior lowered onto the field. "Rayden's special abilities will be your end."

Ichigo paled. He knew exactly what Rayden did. ("When this monster destroys a monster in play then he can also destroy a magic or trap card. That isn't all though, because he can use its second effect to negate the effect of whatever monster it attacks.") Mist Chameleon couldn't be attacked by effect monsters, but thanks to Rayden's special ability it was a moot point.

"Rayden, attack now!" The white-haired youth punched the lizard in the face and it exploded. "Also, I destroy your card on the right." Ichigo's set Shining Signal exploded into dust. "Finally, I activate the final effect of Rayden."

Ichigo stared in confusion. "What are you talking about…Rayden only has two effects!"

Akuma pointed at the card text. "I read otherwise. When you suffer battle damage by this monster you must discard all trap cards in your hand."

Ichigo gasped as the Shining Barrier he had gotten through Mirage of Dreams turned into a beam of light that sped into his graveyard slot. ("That's not right…how is the card text changing….unless…")

Ichigo- 3825

Akuma- 200

Akuma pointed at Ichigo. "I end my turn."

The half demon drew. "And I won't give up."

Eri had gone silent…and watched with her heart stopping and starting of its own accord. ("I can't take this suspense…come on Ichigo…")

A hand rested on her shoulder as Davis crouched down next to her. "Well look at this, he did show up. How's he doing?"

"So far he seems to be in the lead in life points…but Akuma has an incredibly strong monster in play…." Eri took a deep breath. ("For the sake of our friends…")

Ichigo looked at the card he had drawn. "I summon Shining Force-Lady of the Night (1400/400) in defense mode." A female form shimmered into existence on his field. And he immediately gasped.

Eri, from her hiding place, did the same. The monster looked exactly like her, except for the fact that the monster appeared older, taller, and wore a sheer black dress that glittered in the darkness.

Snapping himself out of his momentary stupor, Ichigo frowned. "I end my turn."

Akuma drew. "I summon Cyber Shadow Strongarm (1900/1300) to the field in defense mode." A huge burly-armed warrior appeared on the field. "Attack now!" It launched towards the woman with murder in its eyes.

Ichigo knew that he couldn't let that attack. He wasn't sure why, but it had to be done. "I activate the effect of Lady of the Night!" His last hand card was slid into the graveyard. "By discarding a magic card from my hand I can negate one attack against her. After that all attacks against me for the rest of this turn are direct attacks." A barrier of shadow sprang up to stop Strongarm's attack.

Akuma chortled. "Stupid mistake boy! Rayden attacks you directly!" The white-haired appeared in front of Ichigo and punched him right in the gut. "Before I end my turn I activate the effect of a card I discarded into the graveyard to fuel the effect of Nightmare. Shadow Blessings lets me gain life points equal to the direct attack damage of a monster on my field when it is in my graveyard. End turn."

Ichigo- 1025

Akuma- 3000

Ichigo stumbled…and dropped to one knee. ("It's too much…the Cyber Shadows are too strong…")

_("We are with you…")_

His eyes opened weakly….and as he looked upon Akuma's field he saw a single phantom form that sent tingles running up and down his spine. ("Snake…")

The phantasmal warrior bowed its head to its true master. _("Ichigo…you mustn't let yourself give up. This creature is a demon in the philosophical sense…a dark parasite upon mankind. It's up to you…I hope that you can find the strength to continue. For as always…")_

("If all else fails…there is always the mission.") Ichigo stood up. He was wet, tired, and in pain… ("But the mission isn't finished yet!") He drew. When he looked up Snake was gone. ("Thank you old friend…for that one last encouraging word. Now I know that I can win.")

Akuma closed his eyes. "You've lost boy."

"No." Ichigo looked at his set card. "I have one chance left. And it rests in that set card! Open now!" The card flipped up. "Horn of Shining Revival! This magic card can only activate when I have a monster in play that is humanoid and a Shining Force. Now I can pick up any card with Shining in its title from my graveyard and add it to my hand." He pulled out a card…looked at it…and nodded. "So be it…let's see what this monster can do! I summon Shining Force-Heal Angel!" (1600/0) The medic-dressed angel appeared on the field next to Lady of the Night.

"You re-summon that weakling?" Akuma glowered. "What can she do?"

"Nothing alone…but like all heroes they're never truly alone." Lady of the Night stood up. "Light and Darkness…Shining and Shadow…both are my soul. And as such this is the appropriate monster to defeat you with!"

"What are you babbling about?"

"Fusion Gate activates!" Both female monsters were pulled into the sky. "The power of pain and pleasure…the power of dark and light…the power of nightmare and dream. It is all represented by this monster!" A swirling pillar of light energy and dark energy slammed down into the ground. And a single form slowly lowered down from within that pillar towards the ground.

"What is that?" Akuma was mesmerized by the swirl of black and white power.

"It is your end." The pillar faded and the monster was revealed. It was like that of an angel, except one wing was pitch black while the other was the purest white. In one slender hand rested a black sword, while in the other rested a white sword. The female monster opened its grey eyes and let a few locks of its black-streak white hair fall into its eyes. "Akuma, say hello the Shining Force-Dark Angelica!" (2400/2200) Angelica bowed to the giant and then lifted her swords into a fighting stance.

"As pretty as she is, that little toy is no match for Rayden." Akuma smirked, while Rayden and Strongarm both looked angry at this fact.

Ichigo looked down at his hand. "Fusion Gate is gone." The swirls of dimension above them faded. "Because I play the Field magic card Shining Sanctuary!" Light slammed down onto the field as huge pillars sprang up everywhere. A single giant statue of a goddess appeared behind him. "In this place, the Shining Force is at their strongest. Each member gains an attack bonus of 600." (3000/2200)

Akuma grimaced. "I'll still survive."

"Dark Angelica, attack Rayden now!" The angel glided across the field and slashed right through the white-haired warrior, blowing it apart. "Dark Angelica's special ability now flips a coin! If its heads then I gain life points equal to the attack of the monster she just destroyed! If its tails then you lose life points equal to the attack of the monster she just destroyed!" A golden coin appeared in the air above them and launched out of sight. Then it dropped down and crashed right into the earth between them.

Ichigo smiled slightly as the dust began to clear. "Rest now my friends."

A grinning skull's face was what was on the coin. Dark Angelica snapped her black sword right through Akuma's chest.

The giant looked down at the weapon…and growled weakly. "Impossible…I am immortal…"

"Apparently not." Ichigo pointed at him. "Now go back where you came from."

Ichigo- 1025

Akuma- 0

Akuma shuddered…and turned to dust.

Ichigo dropped to his knees, and smiled weakly. ("Snake…everyone…rest in peace.")

Midnight narrowed his eyes. "Curse, you're on."

The shadowed form bowed. "As you wish master." He faded away.

Ichigo stumbled to his feet…and looked up at the now cloudless night sky. "That was fun…let's never do it again." He started to move towards Eri, but was stopped as dark smoke snapped up in between them. ("Now what?")

"You're impressive, but now you must face me." The smoke formed a ring around the area where Ichigo and Akuma had dueled just seconds before. Then a single line of the smoke appeared across the rings inside…and formed into a dark-coated form.

It was pale with nearly albino white skin. A pair of black lips parted slightly and Curse chuckled. "Are you ready? I am Curse, the second Speaker."

Ichigo clutched at his chest. ("I'm not ready…I'm exhausted.") But he knew what the ring was. His darkness duel had already started.

Ichigo- 4000

Curse- 4000

_To be continued…_

_Well this just flat out sucks. I'm already drained from my first duel, and these guys expect me to duel again? Fine…I'll go with it. Hurry up and make sure everyone is okay Eri, while I deal with pale man. What is that thing you just summoned? Life Lapse Combo?_

_Next Episode: Continuing Assault; Life Lapse Combo_

To Hogwarts-Knight: Sorry buddy, but the Cyber Shadows sleep for now.

To Gryphinwyrm7: Ichigo was ready to bid farewell to the Cyber Shadows. And they were ready to be released from Akuma's control. Now Ichigo will have to face Curse though, who is a demon that has survived the trials of hell.

To Dais: Akuma isn't near the toughest of the Speakers.

To Seeker of the Soul: It's a monster card, and a representation of balance between healing and damage.

To Darkstar: Well you got your wish, he did it.


	14. Continuing Assault Life Lapse Combo

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 14: Continuing Assault; Life Lapse Combo

_Ichigo stumbled to his feet…and looked up at the now cloudless night sky. "That was fun…let's never do it again." He started to move towards Eri, but was stopped as dark smoke snapped up in between them. ("Now what?")_

"_You're impressive, but now you must face me." The smoke formed a ring around the area where Ichigo and Akuma had dueled just seconds before. Then a single line of the smoke appeared across the rings inside…and formed into a dark-coated form._

_It was pale with nearly albino white skin. A pair of black lips parted slightly and Curse chuckled. "Are you ready? I am Curse, the second Speaker."_

_Ichigo clutched at his chest. ("I'm not ready…I'm exhausted.") But he knew what the ring was. His darkness duel had already started._

_Ichigo- 4000_

_Curse- 4000_

Curse lifted his arm, duel disk already in place. "Are you ready?"

Ichigo smacked the side of his head, because he was currently seeing three guys. Then his vision fixed itself and he shuffled his deck. "Fine…let's go."

* * *

Eri stared at the darkness game sphere with confusion. "What…happened?" 

Davis grimaced. "Let's go. Ichigo will be alright and we have things that we can check on while we're here."

Nodding weakly, the demoness followed him as they went to check on Adriel and Hitokage.

* * *

Curse drew and fanned out his hand. "I go first, as the challenger." He fanned out his hand and smirked. "I summon Tried Idol (1400/1000) in attack mode." A multi-armed smirking demon appeared on the field. "Now I set one card face-down on the field. End turn." 

Ichigo drew. "I summon Shining Force-Elemental Commander (700/500) in attack mode!" A steel grey cyborg appeared on the field and aimed its gun hand at Curse. "When this monster is summoned and I have no cards on the field I draw twice." Snapping two cards off of his deck, he grinned and flipped one over. "I activate Polymerization! Fuse Dark Reaper, Spell Binder, and Element Commander together…" A dark purple pillar of light slammed down onto the field. From within it a hooded spellcaster holding a steel staff with a purple jewel on it appeared in play. "Shining Force-Dark Skull Mage (2700/2500) is fusion summoned!" _"Indeed. So another of the Speakers has come?"_

Curse wasn't surprised. He knew all too well what this monster could do.

Ichigo pointed at Tried Idol. "Dark Skull Mage's special ability lets me deduct attack points from it equal to the number of monsters in my graveyard times 100 plus 300!" (600) The mage snapped up its staff and hit the idol with a beam of purple light. (800/1000) "Dark Skull Burning!" A purple skull of light flew from the jewel of the staff and hit the idol, shattering it.

Curse pointed at his set card. "I activate Spirit Barrier." The backlash hit a bubble of energy and dissipated. "As long as I have a monster in play all life point damage to me is zero."

Ichigo slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down on the field. End turn."

Curse drew. "Tried Idol's special ability activates now. While it is in my graveyard I may discard the top card of my deck during my standby phase." His thin fingers pulled the top card off and inserted it into the graveyard slot. "Now I summon Spirit Weaver (1200/1000) to the field." A ghostly man in robes appeared on the field and began to chant. "Now I can pick up the top card of my graveyard." The card he had just discarded slid out of his graveyard and held it up. "And the card is Pot of Greed." Drawing two cards, he smirked. "For now though my turn is complete." ("In the next turn though you'll find yourself hard pressed to attack me…")

Ichigo drew. "I summon Shining Force-Jet Pterodactyl (1300/700) in attack mode!" A green-colored dinosaur appeared on the field and screeched at Curse. "Attack now! Jet Burst!" It snapped open its beak and a ball of green light flew out to slam into Spirit Weaver and blow it apart. "Dark Skull Mage, attack directly! Dark Skull Burning!" The mage fired another screaming purple skull from its staff that passed through Curse and dissipated into the air. "End turn."

Ichigo- 4000

Curse- 1300

Curse drew. "First I play the magic card Book of Life. This card lets me special summon one Undead monster from my graveyard to the field." Spirit Weaver appeared in play. "And from your graveyard I remove Element Commander to fuel this revival."

Ichigo removed the card from his graveyard and grimaced. ("Damn it…")

Curse slid the top card off of his deck. "Tried Idol's effect lets me discard the top card off of my deck." He inserted the card into his graveyard and then it slid right out into his hand. "Spirit Weaver lets me take back the card I discard." Flipping the card over he slid it into his disk. "I play Card of Safe Return. This continuous magic card lets me draw one card from my deck whenever a monster is special summoned from the graveyard."

Ichigo shrugged. "It's a good card, but nothing ground-breaking."

"Oh really?" Curse slid a card from his hand into his disk. "Then you won't mind me using Monster Reborn to revive Tried Idol?" The multi-armed demon appeared on the field. "And because of Card of Safe Return I draw one card."

Ichigo still wasn't impressed. "At the moment I have Dark Skull Mage, which is more than both of the monsters you have in play combined."

Curse smiled slightly. "Ah yes…but that isn't a problem. First though, I'll be using Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy whatever card you have face-down." A blast of wind shattered Ichigo's set card. "Now that the coast is clear, I can sacrifice these two!" His two monsters faded. "And summon Lapse Behemoth!" (3000/2100) A giant covered in black cloth appeared on the field. "This creature's special ability activates when it is tribute summoned. I may special summon one monster from my graveyard to the field." Spirit Weaver appeared alongside the giant. "So now I draw one card." He drew. "And then I activate the effect of Tried Idol, since it has returned to the graveyard." The top card of his deck slid into the graveyard slot of his disk.

Ichigo clenched his fist. ("Great…just great…")

"Go Behemoth, attack now!" The giant punched Dark Skull Mage right in the face and it blew apart.

Ichigo- 3700

Curse- 1300

Ichigo caught two cards that were spat out of his graveyard. "Dark Skull Mage lets me special summon two of its fusion components from my graveyard to the field. Dark Reaper and Spell Binder return." (1000/1700) (500/500) A reaper in black cloth appeared on the field and next to it was a spellcaster in black cloth, both of them crouching on the field.

Curse pointed at Spell Binder. "Attack now!" Spirit Weaver waved its hand once and the spellcaster exploded. "End turn."

Ichigo drew. "It's my turn now…" His eyes flitted over each of the cards in his hand, while he drew out weak breaths every second. ("So tired…") "I summon Shining Force-Revival Aroma Flower (0/1600) in defense mode." A beautiful flower appeared on the field. "Now I switch Jet Pterodactyl." The dinosaur folded its wings in on itself. "Now I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Curse drew. "First I activate the effect of Tried Idol." The top card of his deck slid into his graveyard. "Then I pick it up with the effect of Soul Weaver. And then I play the magic card Shallow Burial." A coffin rose up out of the ground. "The top monster card of my graveyard will be special summoned." A black snake slid out of the top of the coffin and hissed at Ichigo. "Grave Snake (1500/1200) when summoned from my graveyard lets me take back one magic card from my graveyard." He snapped up Mystical Space Typhoon and a blast of wind hit Ichigo's set card, shattering it. Then he drew one card for Card of Safe Return's effect. "Now I sacrifice this monster to summon Soul Drainer." (2200/1900) A giant mass of ectoplasm appeared on the field. "Attack Jet Pterodactyl!" Soul Weaver punched the monster in its stomach and it exploded.

Ichigo braced himself against the backlash and winced.

"Soul Drainer, destroy Dark Reaper!" The ectoplasm wrapped around the reaper monster and it disappeared. "This monster removes any monster it destroys from play."

Ichigo stumbled weakly…his vision fading in and out.

"Go Behemoth!" The giant slammed its fist down on the Aroma Flower.

Ichigo braced himself against the backlash of the powerful strike. "When Aroma Flower is destroyed I can draw one card and add one Shining Force from my graveyard to my hand."

Curse slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Ichigo drew feebly…his hands trembling from exertion. ("I need rest…please…")

Eri shook Rikuo's body again. "Dad! Wake up!"

Davis poked Daniel with a stick again. "Hey…you alive?"

Neither moved at all, their eyes still closed.

"They aren't moving…" Eri hugged Rikuo harder. "Wake up dad…"

Davis frowned. "We have to get help. Come on Eri…" He grabbed her hand and dragged her away. They had things to do.

Ichigo looked at the drawn card. "I activate the magic card Flash of Thought! This magic card lets me shuffle my graveyard and draw the bottom two cards of my graveyard." Two cards slid out of his graveyard slot and he snatched them up. "Now I play the magic card Spinning the Wheel of Fate. When I play this card one random number between one through six will be chosen. If an even number is chosen then I draw that many cards, but if it stops on an odd number then I discard that number of cards." A big number two appeared over him. "And that means I draw two cards."

Curse sneered. "So you've drawn lots of cards hmm?"

Ichigo help up a card. "Monster Reborn!" Dark Skull Mage appeared on the field. "And then I summon Shining Force-Jungle Fighter (1500/1200) to the field!" A wild man holding a stone-tipped spear appeared on the field.

"You can't actually expect that monster to be a threat to me." Curse pointed at Ichigo. "Foolish boy…"

Ichigo opened his field magic card slot. "I activate Shining Sanctuary!" Huge white pillars exploded out of the ground and a giant golden statue appeared behind him. "While this field magic card is in play all Shining Force monsters gain 600 attack points!" (3200/2500) (2100/1200)

Curse sneered.

Ichigo pointed at Behemoth. "Go Dark Skull Mage!" The spellcaster aimed its staff at the giant and blew it apart in one blast of energy. "Jungle Fighter, attack now!" The warrior leapt through the air and stabbed its spear into Soul Weaver.

Curse pointed at his set card. "I reveal my ultimate continuous trap card! Life Lapse!" Purple energy flowed out of his graveyard and into the card. "This trap card allows me to use its effect when one monster that I have in play is sent to the graveyard." A blast of energy flew out of the card and hit Ichigo right in the chest. "You take 500 life points of damage."

Ichigo- 3000

Curse- 1300

Ichigo gasped and slid two cards into his disk. "I set two cards face-down on the field and end my turn."

Curse drew. "This is the card to complete my combo." He snapped the card up. "It is the magic card Revive the Hordes!" The ground underneath him began to churn. "This card works like so…during this turn I can special summon one monster from my graveyard by sacrificing a monster. However, the special summoned monsters cannot be sacrificed." He smirked and slid a card into his graveyard. Soul Drainer exploded and Soul Weaver emerged from the graveyard

Ichigo- 2500

Curse- 1300

Ichigo clutched at his chest weakly. "I'm not done yet. And you can't use your cards against me."

"Oh really?" Curse placed a card onto his disk. "I summon Visage Mummy (1000/1600) in defense mode." A blue mist-covered zombie appeared on the field in a crouching position. "While this monster is in play I can remove one monster on my field from play to give energy to count as one sacrifice." Another Soul Weaver exploded onto the field and he drew. "Again." Every monster from his graveyard was summoned, sacrificed, and he drew five more cards. Now he had six monsters in his removed from play pile. ("I have the necessary cards to deal with you now.")

* * *

"No please!" 

"What are you talking about? What darkness game?"

Davis stared in horror at what he saw going on through the windows of the Ra Yellow dorm. "Oh dear god…"

At least four dozen shadowed forms moved around the building. And every once in a while a roar from a monster being summoned happened.

("Darkness games…the whole school is under attack.") He knew that he couldn't risk taking on one of the wraiths. If he lost then he wouldn't be able to inform Eri about this.

"_Mortal…stop yourself."_

Davis turned and ran face-first into one of the shadowed forms. ("It looks like I'll have to fight my way out!")

* * *

A symphony of girl's screams echoed from the dorm. 

Eri growled and watched as the wraiths floated around the area, challenging anyone they ran into to a darkness game. ("Ashley…Sammy…")

* * *

Krieger pointed at the spectral form in front of him. "Horus Level 8 (3000/1800) attacks now!" The giant steel form of Horus sprayed the opponent's monster with black flames and destroyed the wraith as well. "Alright!" 

Griff grabbed Krieger by the back of his collar. "Come on!"

Hot on their tails was a small army of wraith. _"Duel!"

* * *

_

Midnight sat back in his throne and calmly spoke. "Come out now, Scion."

A form materialized out of the wall behind his throne. "Master, I live to serve."

"How goes the conquering?"

"It goes well. My Wraiths and I are currently removing the humans."

"Good. I want you to locate the cards and make sure they are prepared."

"And if the Seal Holders interfere?"

"Most of them are beaten already."

_To be continued…_

_Hurry up and finish your duel Ichigo! We have to get going!_

_**Are you insane? I'm dueling for my life here!**_

_Just hurry up!_

_**SHUT UP!**_

To Seeker of the Soul: Excellent, congratulations on being crazy and tired. As for Akuma not losing to Ichigo, I guess we'll never know.

To Bobbomp: No…I'm sorry mister AH.

To Anime Albino:

To Rex: Errr...there we go.

To The White Mage: Ditch up huh?

To Hogwarts-Knight: Nope, sorry. I can't give him a good break.

To Arathir: I guess we'll know sooner or later.

To Raine: Thank Fenrir huh?

To Dais: I can tell you what happens. It's called 'duel to death continues'.

To Grisham: Well thank you very much for that information. I wish to tell you that I have no idea what that missing element either.

To falcon demon general: Nope, everyone is not alright.

To Gryphinwyrm7: He might not be able to.

To Darkstar: He might be able to do it.

To Cliff Dog: Because I wanted to change the LP totals.


	15. Escape from Duelist Academy

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 15: Escape from Duelist Academy

The remains of the mansion that had housed the seal of Salamander, Guardian of Fire. And within those remains the last few humans on the Duelist Academy now stood.

"We got away…" Griff looked out the window in fear. He could deal with one of Midnight's specters at a time, but this was far too many.

Eri pounded her fist through the stone pillar in front of her. "You bastards…..Why didn't you let me save them?"

"It's simply a matter of numbers." Davis sat back in his chair and sighed. "I don't doubt that you could have defeated them…but all of them? It would be impossible for your body to survive the fifth darkness game. And there were over twenty of them at the dorm."

Krieger slept quietly at the back of the room. He had dueled a couple of the specters and won, but it had drained his strength.

* * *

"They try to hide from you milord," Scion bowed before Midnight's throne. "The demons and human are located in the place that held the Seal of Fire." 

"We will deal with them in time." Midnight smirked coldly. "After all, there is no way they can possibly hope to defeat us with their cards. You could deal with all of them, but I'd prefer to keep you on reserve until the other Speakers have arrived."

"As you wish. What about Curse though?"

Midnight was keeping close track of that duel. Though he didn't know the specific plays being made, he could tell the general situation of the duel. "Curse is about to unleash his ultimate play against the holder of Luna's power. It should be sufficient to wipe out the weakened holder of the Dark Halo's power."

* * *

"_Oh really?" Curse placed a card onto his disk. "I summon Visage Mummy (1000/1600) in defense mode." A blue mist-covered zombie appeared on the field in a crouching position. "While this monster is in play I can remove one monster on my field from play to give energy to count as one sacrifice." Another Soul Weaver exploded onto the field and he drew. "Again." Every monster from his graveyard was summoned, sacrificed, and he drew five more cards. Now he had six monsters in his removed from play pile. ("I have the necessary cards to deal with you now.")_

Ichigo steadied his breath. Curse had nine cards in his hand, with Spirit Barrier, Card of Safe Return, and Life Lapse in play. ("With Life Lapse he can deal me 500 life points of damage whenever a monster on his field is destroyed.") Also, he had Visage Mummy (1000/1600) in play, which let him remove one monster in play to count as a sacrifice for an effect.

While Ichigo was doing alright. In play he had Black Skull Mage and Jungle Fighter, along with two face-down cards and Shining Sanctuary in play.

Ichigo- 2500

Curse- 1300

Curse sneered. "Are you ready for the last moments of life boy?" He slid a card into his disk. "Magic card activates!" Power flowed along him and the holographic representation of the card. "Dimensional Burial lets me move all monsters from my removed from play pile to the graveyard. Also…" He slid another card into his disk. "I play the quickplay magic card Torn Graves. This card will work perfectly, because whenever a card is moved to my graveyard from any location it counts as going there from the field!"

Ichigo gasped. "That means…Life Lapse…"

"Right. My Life Lapse Combo!" Seven ghostly forms appeared on the field. "Now these monsters go to the graveyard!" The forms started to lower into the graveyard. "Now take 3500 life points of damage!" Life Lapse released a blast of energy towards the half demon rapidly.

Ichigo pointed at one of his set cards. "I can't stop you from hurting me, but I can stop you from finishing me off! Go Damage Buffer!" The card flipped up and blocked the blast of energy. A smaller blast flew out the back of the card and hit him right in the ribs. Coughing in pain he dropped to the ground. "This card cuts all damage to my life points in half during this turn!"

Ichigo- 750

Curse- 1300

Curse growled and looked at the remaining cards he had. "You're a lucky little boy. So I set two cards face-down on the field. End turn."

Ichigo stumbled to his feet and drew. ("I'm done…I just want to sleep.") He looked at the drawn card and placed it onto the field. "I summon Shining Force-Thunder Mistress (2100/1600) in attack mode!" A leather-covered blond-haired woman appeared on the field, lightning crackling along her form. "Attack Visage Mummy!" She released a blast of lightning from her hands that hit the undead monster and blew it apart. "Now Jungle Fighter, attack his life points directly!"

"Reveal Commands from the Heavens!" One of Curse's set cards flipped up and Ichigo's monsters didn't budge at all. "This continuous trap card activates if I have all spaces of my magic and trap zone filled. Now neither of us can attack."

Ichigo growled and looked at his hand. "I…end my turn."

Curse drew. ("I must finish him off…") As his eyes flicked over the cards in his hand…he saw the answer. ("Heh…") "I summon Magic Retriever!" (1200/1500) A demon in magician robes appeared on the field. "Now I discard two cards from my hand to give him a counter. End turn."

Ichigo drew. ("Hyperion…you're good, but not capable of defeating this guy because of his trap card.") He looked at the monsters on the field. ("Thunder Mistress and Hyperion might fuse…") Growling, he knew that he couldn't risk wasting cards. "End turn."

Curse drew. "I summon Harp Mummy (1000/1800) in defense mode." A corpse appeared on the field holding onto a golden harp. "While this monster is in play monsters on your field cannot switch modes!" Two cards in his hand disappeared. "I sacrifice two more cards from my hand to add another counter to Magic Retriever! End turn."

Ichigo drew. "Again….end turn."

Curse drew. "Now's the time…for you to be destroyed! Reverse card open!" His remaining set card flipped up. "Enforcement of the Soldiers!" Commands from the Heavens exploded into dust. "If all cards in my magic and trap zones are face-up, it is destroyed." He pointed at his two field monsters. "I sacrifice these two to summon Master Lich." (2600/2900) A giant undead spellcaster appeared on the field and started to cackle darkly. _"What's this? A mage?"_

Dark Skull Mage narrowed his eyes. _"Interesting…what in the darkness are you?"_

Master Lich's bony hands held its staff calmly. _"I am the master of the undead. Prepare yourself…for I am here to crush you and your master."_

Dark Skull Mage looked back at Ichigo and then forwards at the Master Lich. _"Your master is no match for mine."_

"That's enough." Curse fanned out his deck. "When Magic Retriever is sent to the graveyard I may take one magic card from my deck for every counter on it." Now he had three cards in his hand.

Ichigo grimaced. ("Two magic cards of his choice…")

Curse slid one into his disk. "I play the magic card Curtain of the Dark Master." A black cloak fell around the Master Lich's shoulders. "This card allows me to activate the effect of one monster in my graveyard if I have an undead monster in play." A hole opened up in the ground and a phantasmal form floated up out of the hole. "I activate the effect of Phantom Assassin." (1000/1200) "When this monster is in play I can destroy one monster in play and deal you 500 life points of damage!" He pointed at Jungle Fighter. "That monster must be the weakest in play." The wild man exploded into dust.

Ichigo- 250

Curse- 1300

Ichigo groaned and fell to his knees. ("No…it hurts too much. I…") His eyes went out of focus and he crashed face-first to the ground.

Curse pointed at Thunder Mistress. "Master Lich, attack now! Chant of Dark Hell!" It started to chant into its staff and energy began to line around the woman's form. "Goodbye."

"Reverse card open…" Ichigo lifted his head, eyes still out of focus. "Negate Attack." Master Lich went silent.

Curse growled and slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Ichigo closed his eyes….and felt his strength give out.

* * *

Davis looked out the window and sighed weakly. ("Where are you Pilkington? Extraction will be coming for us in thirty more minutes…") 

Eri stopped pacing across the room and snarled. "I'm getting my father's body!"

He snapped his arm out and grabbed her wrist. "Stay right here. Do not leave."

She snarled at him…but then went silent and looked away.

* * *

Curse pointed at the fallen Ichigo. "Get your ass up child." 

Ichigo's fingers twitched…

Curse blinked a couple of times. "Who…are you?"

"Owie…" Alahandra stood up weakly, her golden hair framing a dirtied face. "Oh no…Ichigo…" She closed her eyes…and found his soul. It was silent, but it was there. Standing up, she looked at her hand and paled. ("I…really don't know how to duel…")

"Well?" Curse tapped his foot. "Since the darkness game hasn't done anything, you are an even trade. Hurry up and draw."

She slid the top card off of her deck. Though she understood the basic rules of the game…there wasn't any strategy in her mind. ("Well….oh yeah! I know what Hyperion does.") Taking the card she placed it onto her disk. "I summon Shining Force-Hyperion." (1600/1400) A golden body-suited warrior with a silver visor appeared on the field. "This monster can attack your life points directly. Go!" It aimed its palm at Curse and fired a blast of energy that hurtled towards the demon.

"Reveal face-down card." Curse pointed at his set card. "I activate the quickplay magic card Dark Flash." A blast of light blinded Hyperion and destroyed its attack. "This card negates one attack and ends your battle phase."

Alahandra gulped and looked down at her hand weakly. ("What do I do now?") Her eyes looked over the cards…and as she looked at the drawn card a faint spark of inspiration went off in her head. "I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Curse drew. "I don't know who you are but you definitely aren't worthy of me. Farewell! From my hand I play the magic card Bone Fireball! This magic card will destroy your life points by dealing you 1000 life points of damage!" Master Lich lifted its hand up, a fireball appearing in its cupped palms. _"Little wench…die."_

Alahandra closed her eyes. ("Please work….") "Reverse card open!" Her face-down card flipped up and the fireball disappeared.

"What?" Curse blinked in surprise. "What did you do?"

"Uhh…" Alahandra looked at her card. "Well…"

"_I can answer that."_ Dark Skull Mage smirked. _"Secrets of the Dark Arts can only activate while there is a dark spellcaster in play. If this card is activated in response to a magic card then that card will be negated. Also, this card will do something else too…"_ He smirked. _"For every card you have in play you'll take 300 life points of damage!"_ A ball of energy charged up at the jewel on the end of his staff. Then it fired in a blast of energy towards the demon.

Curse looked at his hand and slammed a card into his disk. "I play the quickplay card Dark Barrier!" A shield of black smoke appeared in front of him. "This card negates one instance of effect damage." The blast hit the shield and dissipated.

Alahandra gulped again. "It didn't work…"

Dark Skull Mage smirked. _"Actually…"_

As the smoke cleared Curse smirked coldly. "You're finished…because now I…..I…" He stumbled, vision going in and out. "What…what in the hell did you do?" Letting out one weak gasp he exploded into dust.

Ichigo- 250

Curse- 0

Alahandra stared in amazement as the darkness sphere cleared away. "How did you do that?"

"_Secrets of the Dark Arts deals its damage regardless of negating effects that are in play."_ Dark Skull Mage looked back at the girl coldly. _"Farewell."_ He faded away.

Looking down at her deck, Alahandra shuffled the cards up and walked towards the Osiris Red dorm. ("Maybe I can find one of Ichigo's friends….")

* * *

"_Duel! Duel! Duel!"_

Davis gritted his teeth tightly as the doors of the mansion shuddered and exploded outwards as the wraiths surged in.

"There's no way we can duel all of these guys…" Griff stepped back and clenched his fists. "What do we do?"

"We duel them." Eri turned on her duel disk.

They both turned on their duel disks, while Krieger still slept behind them at the back of the hall.

* * *

Alahandra wandered around in confusion. "Where am I? Hello?" 

"_Duel…Duel…Duel…Duel…"_

"Huh?" The blond-haired girl poked her head through some bushes and stared in amazement at the black-cloaked wraiths that floated around the mansion and started to flow into the building. "What are all of them doing?"

* * *

_So…tired…_

_**Well look at this. Are you tired? Weakened?**_

_Please…Eri…wraiths…help…_

_**You want my help? Why should I help you?**_

_Because…you're…me…and Eri…is in trouble…_

_**Grrrr…..**_

"Twisted Fiend, direct attack!"

"Tyrant, direct attack!"

"Cliff, direct attack!"

Three of the wraiths were blown apart as the three called monster brought their life points to zero. But the moment they fell new wraiths stepped in with duel disks ready. _"Duel!"_

"There's no end to these bastards…" Eri shuffled her deck and slammed it home.

"Damn it…" Davis shuffled his deck and drew his hand.

Griff stumbled as a wave of dizziness hit him. ("It's starting to wear on me…")

The wraiths prepared to draw their hands…until they all exploded into flames.

All three of the duelists stood in silence…unsure what had just happened.

"_Duel! Duel! Duel! Duel! Duel! Duel!"_ The wraiths all turned towards the doorway…

Eri was the first to see him. "Ichigo…" Relief washed through her, because that meant he had won. ("But for him to come here…he'll try to save us…and die…")

Ichigo's hair shimmered night black, as did his irises. "Hmmm…so you pitiful shells of humans wish to duel?"

All 129 of the remaining wraiths formed their spectral duel disks at once.

Ichigo's body smirked. "Then this will be my warm-up exercise."

One of the wraiths started to move forwards. _"I will be your first opponent."_

"No." Ichigo's hand waved across the room. "All of you at once. I don't have the time to waste taking you down one after another." His duel disk slid into place.

All of the wraiths formed in front of him…and then mashed together into one spectral mass. And from within that mass emerged six wraiths, disks at ready. _"Foolish mortal…if that is what you wish…so be it. We will exchange positions as our turns pass. But it is unlikely you will last more than one turn."_

Ichigo's body snapped its fingers and the world around them blurred. "I begin this darkness game in according to the rules of the Dark Halo!" His lips curled into a dark smile. "On that note…that's who you will be facing in this duel."

Dark Halo- 4000

Wraiths- 4000X6 (123 in reserve)

_To be continued…_

_Davis here. The Extraction team will arrive soon…but this is insane! Pilkington's not only lost his mind but he's challenging all of the wraiths at once!_

_Next Episode: 129 against one_

To Seeker of the Soul: You know that Kaiba will get away with it, if just because nobody is gonna believe this crap if it ever gets out that this happened.

To falcon demon general: Haven't you ever seen a horror movie before? Saying 'how could it get any worse' is just asking for bad stuff.

To generic reviewer: What Yugioh hater are you speaking of?

To The White Mage: Ichigo fell…but Alahandra took his place.

To Dais: Not really. They are not based off of the Orichalchos Soldiers.


	16. 129 against one

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 16: 129 against one

"Master Midnight…" Scion bowed at the foot of the throne. "It seems the Dark Halo is awake."

Midnight tapped his foot against the floor. ("So it has awoken…") "Fortify our hold on the island. I don't want to risk losing what we have worked to get."

"Are you sure that you do not want me to crush the Dark Halo?" Scion bowed once again.

Midnight shook his head. "No…for now I want my base of operations in place before I go and risk a fight with anyone of significance such as the Halo…"

"As you wish milord."

* * *

"_No." Ichigo's hand waved across the room. "All of you at once. I don't have the time to waste taking you down one after another." His duel disk slid into place._

_All of the wraiths formed in front of him…and then mashed together into one spectral mass. And from within that mass emerged six wraiths, disks at ready. "Foolish mortal…if that is what you wish…so be it. We will exchange positions as our turns pass. But it is unlikely you will last more than one turn."_

_Ichigo's body snapped its fingers and the world around them blurred. "I begin this darkness game in according to the rules of the Dark Halo!" His lips curled into a dark smile. "On that note…that's who you will be facing in this duel."_

_Dark Halo- 4000_

_Wraiths- 4000X6 (123 in reserve)_

The first wraith drew. "From my hand I play the continuous magic card Double Summon. This card lets all players perform two normal summons per turn." It grabbed two cards and threw them into its graveyard. "Cost Down lets me lower the level of all monsters in my hand and field by two!" It threw down two cards. "Now I call out two Summoned Skulls!" (2500/1200X2) A pair of bone and muscle demons appeared on the field. "End turn."

The second wraith drew. "I summon Bistro Butcher (1800/800) and Archfiend Soldier (1900/1500) to the field!" A blue demon in cook's clothing and a purple horned demon appeared on the field. "I set two cards face-down on the field. End turn."

The third wraith drew. "I play two Devil's Sanctuary magic cards to summon two Metal Devil Tokens!" (0/0) A pair of metal dolls appeared on the field. "Then I sacrifice them both to Zoa!" (2600/1900) A large blue demon appeared in play. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

The fourth wraith drew. "I summon two Death Kaisers (1800/1500) to the field!" A pair of black-armored demons appeared on the field. "End turn."

The fifth wraith drew. "I set three cards face-down. End turn."

The sixth wraith drew. "I summon Black Guarders (300/2300) in defense mode!" A pair of bulky demons holding shields appeared on the field. "Also I set one card face-down and end my turn."

The Dark Halo drew. "So…from what I sense you think to try and overwhelm me hmm?" He looked at the drawn card. "I special summon War Razor Dragon (1850/1700) in attack mode through its special effect. When I have no monsters in play and my opponent does, I can special summon it out." A giant robotic dragon covered in metal sharp blades appeared in play and roared loudly. "Now I set one monster face-down for my normal summon of the turn." He slammed three cards into his disk. "Next I set three cards face-down and then play Card of Sanctity." Six cards left his deck, while the wraiths all drew their cards.

Eri watched in amazement….how could anyone hope to defeat 129 opponents?

Halo pointed at one of its set cards. "First I activate the continuous magic card Cyber War Base." Behind him a giant egg-shaped building shimmered into existence right outside. "This card raises the attack of all War machine monsters by 500 points." (2350/1700) "Now I activate one of the effects of this card. By sacrificing a War machine type monster that I have in play to deal its attack in damage to all opponents I have." War Razor Dragon exploded and sprayed each of the six wraiths with sharp blades.

Dark Halo- 4000

Wraiths- 1650X6 (Reserve: 123)

Halo pointed at its set monster. "Monster special ability activates now!" The card that was revealed was a miniature cylinder mobile repair facility. It looked like a truck carrying a tiny base on it. "Mobile Repair Vehicle (0/2000) flips up if I wish to use its effect. When one War machine type monster is sent to the graveyard I can special summon the lost monster back to the field!" War Razor Dragon appeared in play again. "And again." It exploded and sprayed the three wraiths with blades, tearing all six apart.

Dark Halo- 4000

Wraiths- 0 (Reserve: 123)

Six new wraiths appeared in play.

Halo slammed a card into his disk. "Metal Recovery Engine!" A huge contraption appeared on the field and started to run wildly. "This card activates when played. One monster on my field flips down."

Mobile Repair Vehicle turned into a set card. And then it flipped up and War Razor Dragon reappeared on the field.

Halo smirked. "Metal Recovery Engine also activates when a War machine type monster on my field is sent to the graveyard." He pointed at War Razor Dragon and it exploded, spraying the six wraiths with blades. And then the Mobile Repair Vehicle turned into a set card, flipped up, and War Razor Dragon reappeared. "And now…" His fangs lifted up and he sneered. "Let the War Death Combo begin."

It became a cycle. And as quickly as the wraiths would appear they would get cut down before they even got a chance to play any cards.

Dark Halo- 4000

Wraiths- 4000X3 (Reserve: 0)

The last three wraiths stood calmly. Then one of them snapped up a card when the razors launched towards it. "I activate the effect of the quickplay magic card Duel Restart! By discarding five cards from my hand I can force us all to shuffle up our decks and restart the duel!"

The whole field vanished.

The first wraith snapped the top card off of its deck. "I set one monster face-down and one card face-down. End turn."

The second wraith, which had no hand, drew. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

The third wraith drew. "I set one monster face-down and end my turn."

Halo drew. "I summon War Titan (2200/2000) in attack mode." A huge mecha appeared on the field, its stream-lined body shining in the faded light. "This monster, like War Razor Dragon, can be special summoned if my opponent has at least two more monsters in play." Another card was slapped down next to it. "And now I summon Weapon Delivery Vehicle (900/1400) in defense mode!" A hovering robot appeared on the field. "When this monster is summoned I may take one equipment magic card from my deck and equip it to one War Titan in play."

A huge beam rifle appeared in the grasp of the craft and it dropped it down into the hands of the Titan. "Defense Crusher Rifle. This card raises the equipped monster's attack power by 1500 points. Also, this monster can now deal damage through defense!" (3700/2000) Halo's eyes flicked between the two wraiths in play that had cards in their hands. ("I'd best eliminate these annoyances now.") "First I play the quickplay magic card Limiter Removal! This card doubles the attack of all machine monsters in play!" (7400/2000) (1800/1400) "Now attack that one's monster! Defense Crusher Shot!" The mech snapped the rifle up and fired, the blast blowing right through wraith one's set monster and hitting it, dissipating it immediately.

"I'm far from done! Weapon Delivery Vehicle lets me sacrifice it to allow one machine monster that I have in play attack again!" War Titan snapped its rifle around to aim at wraith three's set monster. "Defense Crusher Shot!" The rifle fired again and pierced through that set monster, the blast hitting the other wraith and tearing it to shreds.

Dark Halo- 4000

Wraith- 0X2/4000

Halo slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down and end my turn. And during my end phase," His War Titan exploded into dust. "I discard War Mechanic (700/500) to bring one War machine type monster that was destroyed back to play!" The War Titan reappeared in play.

The remaining wraith drew. "Reverse card open." Its face-down card flipped up. "Force of Equilibrium lets me draw five cards." It slid five new cards off of its deck. "First I summon Glitter Harpy (1300/1400) in attack mode." A bird-woman covered in glitter appeared on the field. "Also, I set one card face-down. End turn."

Halo drew. "I play the equipment magic card Triple Steel. By sending this card to the graveyard I can search my deck for two more copies of it. I send one of those copies to the graveyard and special summon the other one!" (2200/2000) Another War Titan appeared in play, this one much blockier than the other one. "War Titan one, attack Glitter Harpy!" The stream-lined one flew forwards and punched right through the bird-woman.

Dark Halo- 4000

Wraith- 3100

The wraith snapped a card into its graveyard. "This monster's special ability lets me special summon one Beast, Winged Beast, or Beast-Warrior to the field." A giant humanoid lion appeared on the field and roared. (2300/1000) "Manticore of Darkness is special summoned to the field." It pointed at its face-down card. "I reveal Tower to the Pyramid. This continuous trap card lets me discard one card from my hand to play one Pyramid of Light from my deck to the field!" Another card slid into its graveyard and a glowing pyramid of blue light appeared around both of them.

Halo looked at the last card in its hand. "End turn."

The wraith drew. "I pay 500 life points to special summon Sphinx Teleia to the field in defense mode!" (2500/3000) A huge winged lion creature with a woman's head attached to it and appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Also, I pay another 500 life points to special summon Anthro Sphinx!" (3000/2000) A giant bipedal lion in blue armor appeared on the field and roared at Halo's two monsters. "These monsters cannot attack during the turn they are summoned, so I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Halo calmly drew. "Well…how interesting you are. To think that you want to oppose me with the skill of an actual duelist…" He flipped the card up. "I activate Pot of Greed." Snapping two cards of his deck, he looked at the new cards. "First I play the equipment magic card Electric Animators." The third War Titan, this one covered in sharp armor, appeared on the field in a crouching position. (2200/2000) "Also, I set one monster face-down and one card face-down. End turn."

The wraith drew. "I activate the equipment magic card Fangs of Blood." Anthro Sphinx roared in pure anger as its fangs shot out in size and sharpness. "When this monster destroys a monster as a result of battle you'll take that monster's attack in damage. Now I switch Sphinx Teleia into attack mode!" The female monster stood up. "Anthro Sphinx, attack now!" The giant lion monster roared with all its strength, creating a shockwave force that hurtled towards the defense mode War Titan.

Halo sneered. "You think that these machines are the final evolution? Reveal face-down card!" His card flipped up and the War Titan disappeared in an explosion of light. "Mirror Armor Upgrade transforms my monster into War Mirror Titan!" (1000/2500) A new mecha made of mirrors appeared on the field. "Once per turn this monster may negate one attack and destroy the attacking monster!" It was hit by the blast and slapped it back, striking Anthro Sphinx and shattering it with its own attack.

The wraith pointed at a different War Titan. "Attack now Manticore of Darkness!" The lion monster charged forwards.

"Reveal Fusion Core!" Halo's other set card flipped up. "This card allows me to sacrifice a pair of War Titans in play!" The two remaining War Titans exploded into dust. "Come out now…" A ball of light appeared and faded away to reveal a mecha that looked like a steel angel. "War Angel Titan (2600/2300) in attack mode!"

The wraith's hand dropped towards the ground. "End turn."

Halo drew. "I expected a little better from one who could stop my Razor Death Combo. Oh well…" He held the card up. "Card of Sanctity again." They both drew six cards. As his eyes flicked over the drawn cards he started to laugh... "Good…I can end this. First I discard War Pilot (450/600) to special summon one War machine type monster from my hand to the field. Come out now War Razor Dragon!" (1850/1700) The giant metal dragon appeared on the field behind him. "Now I play War Cyber Base!" The giant base appeared behind him. "And the attack of all War machine type monsters on my field goes up by 500!" (3100/2300) (1500/2500) (2350/1700) His lips curled up slightly. "It's time to end this…I play Power Bonding!" Energy crackled between War Angel Titan and War Razor Dragon. "This counts as a fusion card for machines!" Both creatures exploded apart and formed into a fusion of blades and wings. "War Death Seed (3700/2700) in attack mode!"

Electricity continued to arch along the machine's body. "Power Bonding doubles the original attack of the fused machine!" (6900/2700) Death Seed flapped its dragon wings a couple of times and then its angel wings. "At the end phase of this turn I will take damage equal to the original attack of the fused monster, but you won't last long enough to see that! Death Seed, attack now!" His fusion machine powered up jets attached to its back, preparing to charge.

"Reveal face-down quickplay magic card." The Wraith pointed at its set card. "Mirage Magic will negate your attack and increase my life points by the attack of your monster."

"Oh really?" Halo held up a card. "I activate the quickplay magic card War Controller. While there is a War machine type monster in play I can steal one card from your field." Mirage Magic teleported to his field and exploded into dust. "Continue the attack." Death Seed launched forward and slammed into the Wraith's field. "This monster's special ability lets it destroy all monsters in play after it has attacked one. You take the attack of the destroyed monsters in life point damage." As the smoke cleared there was nothing left of the Wraith.

Halo- 4000

Wraith- 0 (Reserve: 0)

Everyone stared in a mix of horror and awe at the Dark Halo.

He returned their stares with a cold glare. "I didn't do this to save you…I did this because Ichigo is a pitiful fool with a heart." Closing his eyes he sat down and crossed his legs.

And in the distance the sound of a helicopter coming in for a landing could be heard.

_To be continued…_

_So they have escaped…how quaint. However, I will not take the bait and go after them. Enough of their best duelists have been defeated that all which is left is a pair of weaklings, a human, Amero's child, and the Dark Halo incarnate. They can prepare for this all they want…but there is no way for me to be defeated._

_Next Episode: Plans to counter-attack_

To Justin: Ummm….I might use them…I might not…

To Seeker of the Soul: What do you think of the Dark Halo?

To falcon demon general: I will write it just like that.

To Hogwarts-Knight: It wasn't Ichigo. It was another part of his personality…the embodiment of all of his hate and anger. And it simply calls itself the Dark Halo.

To Wolfy: You should really calm down.

To Gryphinwyrm7: That it is.

To Dais: She's calmed down a little bit and gotten more used to other beings having contact with her. She's grown up.

To Star AJT: That's about right.


	17. Plans to counterattack

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 17: Plans to counter-attack; And the choice of Eri

Everyone sat in the cargo hold of the helicopter, staring at the Dark Halo.

He continued to sit calmly in a cross-legged position, seeming to meditate.

"So…are you really the enforcer of the darkness games?" Eri had only recently learned the story of the Dark Halo, but after what she had seen she was willing to believe it.

"I am not the original Dark Halo or else those shells of life would have been destroyed without getting a chance to duel." His night black hair fell around his face. "However…I am the power of the Dark Halo mixed completely with a part of Ichigo's psyche. So for all intents and purposes I suppose I am the Dark Halo."

"So…Halo…" Davis thought hard at a way to word this question. "Are you with us or against Midnight?"

"Neither." He replied emotionlessly. "I owe a small bit of my existence to Ichigo, and as such I heeded his request to save the girl's life. Now that my work is done I will leave you right after the chattering idiot girl realizes there is an opening for her to gain control of this body with."

Before anyone could ask him what he meant there was a nearly blinding flash of light that filled the cabin.

Eri covered her eyes to block the brightness…and as such had no chance to respond when something bowled into her and sent her crashing to the floor.

"Hi Eri!" Alahandra hugged the demoness tightly.

And Eri blushed bright red. "Get off of me Ichigo!"

Alahandra hopped up and grinned. "No, you're wrong. I'm not Ichigo."

Davis rubbed his eyes to try and clear the spots away. "Then who are you?"

The blond-haired girl struck her pose. "I am the illustrious Alahandra!"

"……….."

* * *

Meanwhile at the island of the Duelist Academy, things had changed. 

Sitting in the place of the huge complex near the center of the island was a huge castle of dark stone. And at the top of that castle was a large open section of roof.

Midnight looked out over his new domain. "Hmm…" He snapped his fingers.

Scion appeared next to him. "What do you wish master?"

"The Dark Halo Incarnate's power is gone from this plane. Go and eliminate the holder of that power before he can recover his lost power." Midnight's eyes stared ahead, looking into the wavelengths of energy of the planet.

Scion faded away without another word.

* * *

Everyone stared at Alahandra, who just sat there and smiled back. "What's everybody staring at?" 

Eri stared at the girl….and shook her head. "Sooo…you're another part of Ichigo's personality?"

"Yup!"

"I'm going to be physically ill." The demoness looked out the window of the helicopter.

"What's the matter Eri?" Alahandra slid in close to her.

"Nothing." She kept looking out the window. Then blushed brightly as the blond-haired girl hugged her from behind and placed a chin on her shoulder.

"Somebody needs some cheering up…"

A low growl escaped Eri's throat. "Get…off…"

"Not until you cheer up."

Eri's lips lifted into a sick smile. "There…I'm smiling…now get off of me right now…"

"But you're faking it though!"

"No I'm not! I'm…really…happy…"

Alahandra yawned. "I…feel sleepy…"

Eri started to stumble, her eyes closing slowly. "Huh…"

They both crashed to the ground, asleep instantly.

* * *

Both girls found themselves standing on a circular stone platform. Surrounding them was an endless void of mist. 

"Where are we?" The hairs on the back of Eri's neck stood up. ("And how…")

"Greetings. I am the third Speaker of Midnight. My name is Scion, master of dreams and the dream world." A cloud of mist lowered to the field and pulled together to turn into a man with grey long hair and a grey beard. "I am here to destroy the Dark Halo incarnate."

Alahandra gulped and started to step away. "I really know…"

Eri stepped between them. "I'll be your opponent."

Scion frowned. "Very well…but let me make sure you fully understand the conditions. If I win then your soul will remain in your control. In fact, the only thing I will win if you lose is that I'll be able to challenge the Dark Halo incarnate."

Eri nodded, a duel disk appearing on her arm.

Scion- 4000

Eri- 4000

Scion snapped his arm out and a duel disk appeared on it. "I start!" He drew. "First the Pot of Greed magic card." Fanning out his seven card hand, he calmly inserted a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down and one monster face-down as well. End turn."

Eri drew. "First the quickplay Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your set card!" A blast of wind shattered the face-down card. "Then I play my own Pot of Greed. After that I summon Wolf Demoness (1550/1550) to the field!" A wild female wolf demon appeared on the field, her light armor appearing dull in the grey mist. "Also, the equipment magic card Howling Cry will attach to any monster with the words Wolf Demon in its title. That monster will gain double attack points." (3100/1550) "Now, Howling Claw!" The female demon slashed through the set card easily. "Wolf Demoness negates the effect of any monster it destroys as a result of battle."

Scion didn't seem worried.

"I end my turn by setting two cards face-down on the field." Eri had a cold smile on her face. This was a form of therapy for her. She'd tear down one of Midnight's so-called invincible Speakers to help her confidence in the coming battle with the real threat.

Scion drew. "First I play the magic card Giant Trunade. This card will send all magic and trap cards in play back to their owner's hands."

Eri pointed at one of her set cards. "I activate the counter trap Magic Hunting Spirit!" An orange ghost flew out of the now face-up card and stole a card right out Scion's hand. "This trap will negate a magic card and force you to discard a random magic card from your hand as well!"

Scion grabbed a different card from his hand. "I summon Dream Angler (1500/1600) in attack mode." A giant fish made of mist appeared on the field. "This monster's special ability lets me play a field magic card from my deck!" A card was shot out of his deck and he slammed it into his field magic card slot. "Welcome to Dream Land!" All around them huge white fluffy clouds flew up and transformed into a golden castle behind him. "In this place, all monsters with Dream in their title have their original attack points increased by 200. Also, whenever monsters battle their original attacks are applied for the fight! Dream Angler, Light the Way!" A blast of light flew from the fish's mouth and hit Wolf Demoness right in the chest, blowing her apart. (1700/1600) "End turn."

Scion- 4000

Eri- 3850

Eri drew. "I play the magic card Sword that Seals the Dead!" A sword shot from her card that had a skull at the crosspiece. It hit the fish and the monster turned to stone. "This card removes your monster from play. That monster and this card cannot be affected by anything. The only way to free your monster is to your have a monster of yours in play be destroyed!"

Scion smiled slightly.

Eri growled. "I'll knock that smile right off! Go Monster Reborn!" Wolf Demoness appeared on the field in front of her. "Direct attack!" It leapt forward and slashed its claws through Scion, who dissipated into mist. "What?"

"Dream Land's special ability prevents me from taking any damage." Scion reappeared on the field. "Sorry child."

Eri's eyes widened. "What? You can't take damage?"

"That's right." Scion drew. "I summon Dream Swordsman (2000/1300) to the field." A sleeping warrior in knight's armor appeared on the field. "This monster cannot attack, but once per turn it may destroy one monster in play that has an original attack less than its own." Wolf Demoness exploded into dust. "End turn."

Eri drew. "First I activate the continuous magic card Situational Grief. Then I play the magic card Shadow Rebirth. When a dark monster on my field is special summoned during this turn I may draw two cards. This effect will only work once." She pointed at her set card. "Go Call of the Haunted!" Wolf Demoness appeared on the field. "So I draw two cards."

She pointed at Wolf Demoness. "I sacrifice my monster to summon Beast of Gilfer (2200/2500) in defense mode." A giant black demon appeared on her field in a crouching position. "End turn."

Scion drew. "Now I summon Dream Fairy (1300/700) to the field." A sleeping fairy appeared alongside the Soldier. "Prepare yourself, because when summoned this monster lets me draw a card if I have Dream Land in play." He drew once. "End turn."

Eri smirked and drew. "Situational Grief's special ability lets me gain 1000 life points per monster you have in play if you are unable to successfully land an attack during your turn!"

Scion- 4000

Eri- 5850

The demoness looked at the drawn card. ("This card…") She smirked. "I will dislike using this, but it must be done. Go Heavy Storm! All magic and trap cards in play will be destroyed, so therefore Dream Land in gone!" A blast of wind shattered her continuous magic card and the castle behind Scion. "Now I switch Beast of Gilfer into attack mode! Demon's fireball!" The demon stood up and spat out a fireball that blew Dream Soldier apart.

Scion- 3800

Eri- 5850

The Sword that Seals the Dead shattered and Dream Angler was freed.

Eri didn't care though. "End turn."

Scion drew. "I set a monster in defense mode and one card face-down. I also switch both of my monsters into defense mode. End turn."

Eri drew. "You can only defend now because your precious field card is gone." She sneered. "By discarding one Demon monster from my hand I can activate the effect of Black Lightning! Dream Angler will be destroyed and half of its attack will be deducted from your life points!" A bolt of lightning hit the fish and blew it apart.

Scion- 3050

Eri- 5850

She pointed at Dream Fairy. "Demon's Fireball!" Beast of Gilfer spat out a blast of fire that hit the little fairy and incinerated it instantly. "End turn."

Scion drew. "Ah…excellent draw. I set one card face-down on the field and flip up Dream Penguin (800/1800) to activate its effect." A sleeping penguin appeared on the field. "This monster's special ability lets me pick up one card with Dream in its title from my graveyard."

Eri paled. "You're taking back Dream Land?"

"No, I'm taking back Dream Fighter (1300/1800) which was destroyed at the start of the duel." He held up another card. "Now I'll summon Dream Guardian." (1100/1900) A stone statue of a sleeping man appeared on the field. "This monster lets me sacrifice it and one other Dream monster to pick up Dream Land from my graveyard." Both of his monsters exploded into dust. "Now I play Polymerization to fuse together Dream Archer (900/0) and Dream Fighter into Dream Sharpshooter." (1400/0) A tired-looking man holding a bow appeared on the field. "This monster's special ability lets me once per turn remove one monster in play from the game." It yawned and shot a single arrow the struck Beast of Gilfer and blew it apart. "Also, I'll play Dream Land again!" The castle appeared behind him. (1600/0) "Direct attack! Dream Shot!" Another arrow flew across the field and pierced Eri right in the chest.

Scion- 3050

Eri- 4250

The demoness stumbled back, expecting blood. Instead…she lost her balance and her eyes started to droop. ("I'm…getting tired…")

"By now you have figured out the truth." Scion smiled calmly. "If your life points reach zero then your body will become so drained of strength you won't even be able to draw breath. Which means you will die. So while I win nothing, you lose your life. And unlike losing your soul that is much harder to recover from."

Eri drew slowly. "I summon Wolf Demon Lord Rikuo!" (2000/1500) A warrior that looked exactly like Rikuo in his biker gear, except for the fact that he was holding a sword, appeared on the field. "This monster can be summoned without sacrifice if I have no other cards in my hand. Also, when it destroys a monster that monster loses its special ability. Go Wolf Demon Lord Rikuo, Howling Slash!" The warrior snapped its sword forward, creating a blast that tore along the ground towards Dream Sharpshooter.

Scion pointed at one of his set cards. "I activate the trap card Dream Cyclone!" A blast of white powder swept over the field. "This card negates one attack while Dream Land is in play. Also, it removes the attacking monster from the game." Wolf Demon Lord Rikuo disappeared.

Eri stared at the spot where the monster had been. ("Father…")

Scion drew. "I set one card face-down on the field and attack with Dream Sharpshooter!" The archer fired another arrow that pierced into Eri's chest and exploded into white smoke. "End turn."

Scion- 3050

Eri- 2650

Eri felt her right leg fall asleep. "It's my turn, draw!" She drew. "I'll get back at you for daring to get rid of my father's avatar!" Looking at the drawn card….she smiled coldly. "You…are dead. I special summon Wolf Demon Avatar Entirius!" (3000/2100) A strong-looking old man holding a flaming katana appeared on the field. "This monster can be summoned when Wolf Demoness and Wolf Demon Lord are in the graveyard or removed from play pile! All face-down cards will be destroyed! Wolf Demon Blast!" Entirius slammed the sword into the ground and both of Scions's set cards exploded into dust. "Entirius, attack Dream Sharpshooter!" The lord slashed through the archer.

Scion's hair was blown back by the blow, but otherwise he was unaffected. "That was cute, but it's my turn now." He drew. "From my the magic card Gate of Nightmares." A pitch-black doorway of stone exploded out of the ground behind him. "Open." It snapped open and Wolf Demon Avatar Entirius exploded. "When Dream Land is in play all monsters in play are destroyed." He smiled slightly. "However…that is far from all. Also, your worst fears are revealed!"

A blot of darkness exploded out of the gateway and formed into an exact copy of Wolf Demon Lord Rikuo. "Your father…his soul broken and shattered. His mighty willpower overcome by the strength of my lord Midnight." Rikuo stepped back and kneeled in front of Scion.

Eri's hands trembled. "What purpose does this serve….?"

Scion placed his hand on Rikuo's head and scratched his ears. "Your worst nightmares unleash through this power. A power that surpasses all cards. Rikuo, slash the wench." The wolf demon stood up and leapt across the field, stabbing his sword right into her stomach.

Scion- 3050

Eri- 650

Eri felt cold…not just from the effect of the darkness game…but from the fact that her father had attacked her. "Father…"

Rikuo floated back to Scion's field. (2000/1500)

Scion smiled once again. "There is a way out of this dear. Just so you know, this is an Eternal Death game. Even cards of a Soul Deck are destroyed forever when sent to the graveyard. And like the original Wolf Demon Lord Rikuo, your father's true self is gone. All that is left is a servant of the darkness." Rikuo's eyes shimmered in the mist.

Eri dropped to her knees. "No…my father cannot have his will broken. He is…"

"He has lost his touch over this time. There is nothing left of him but a dark soul." Scion sneered. "It's over. Your deck is lacking those cards that are yours. Eternal Death destroys your deck, just like it destroyed the Cyber Shadows completely and utterly."

Alahandra shook Eri a couple of times. "Eri…wake up…"

The demoness looked down at the ground blankly. ("He's right…if my father has fallen to the darkness…what chance do I stand?") She started to shudder. ("I'm not a match for him. In this world, I am at the bottom of the top. Ichigo alone defeated both his father and mine, while all I could do was damage his father slightly. I'm not like him…I'm not destined for anything. My death won't affect the battle…Ichigo will win. He doesn't need me.")

Scion closed his eyes. "That's right. Feel your life drain away. Give in to the darkness."

Eri's skin began to grow cold, like a corpse's. Her breathing slowed down to the point that she barely drew in enough air to stay alive.

"Your father is ours, and you will join him. Little girl, you are beaten."

Alahandra leapt to her feet. "Be quiet! What's the matter with you…?"

"Silence!" Scion snapped his hand out and blew her off of the platform. "This does not yet concern you."

Eri's eyes closed completely…and she went still.

Scion looked to the Wolf Demon Lord Rikuo that stood on his field. "She could not stand against the truth. Your soul is ours…and she will die knowing there was nothing that she could do."

* * *

Eri...

**Who's that? Who's calling me?**

Please Eri…wake up. I'm begging you…you must listen to me.

**Who are you? Why should I listen to you? It would be so much easier to drift into oblivion…**

_-----------------------_

_Rikuo found himself standing in an all too familiar hall-way. ("This is Daniel's house.")_

_Childish laughter filtered out of a nearby doorway... ("And that's Daniel's room.")_

"_Rikuo, you're so funny!"_

_("What?") The wolf demon, like a ghost, floated through the door and found himself in a room that looked exactly like Daniel's, and yet at the same time it was different. Instead of Duel Monsters posters and all kinds of random junk strewn around the room, it was clean and well-organized inside._

_And sitting in a corner, with a coloring book open in front of him, was a little boy who couldn't be any older than maybe five or six. He had bright red hair, and a pair of twinkling brown eyes..._

_("Daniel...") The mere mention of his hikari's name burned Rikuo like fire. And to see _

_his light... ("Why do I have this memory...? I wasn't awakened until he was at least sixteen. This doesn't make any sense.")_

_The little Daniel broke down into a fit of giggles. "Aw Rikuo, you shouldn't say so many mean things about Rebecca..."_

_Meanwhile, the real wolf demon was crouching, watching his light intently. ("Who can he be talking to? It can't be me, can it?") Then he saw what 'Rikuo' Daniel was talking to..._

_It was a little wolf doll that was sitting in the boy's lap..._

**What was that? Am I dreaming?**

_----------------_

"_**Wishing on a dream that seems far-off,"**_

"_**Hoping it will come today,"**_

"_**Into the starlit night,"**_

"_**Foolish Dreamers turn their gaze,"**_

"_**Waiting on a shooting star,"**_

"_**But...What if that star is not to come?"**_

"_**Will their dreams fade to nothing?"**_

"_**When the horizon darkens most,"**_

"_**We all need to believe there is hope,"**_

"_**Is an angel watching closely over me?"**_

"_**Can there be a guiding light I've yet to see?"**_

"_**I know that my heart should guide me but..."**_

"_**There's a hole within my soul..."**_

"_**What will fill this emptiness inside of me?"**_

"_**Am I to be satisfied without knowing?"**_

"_**I wish, then, for a chance to see...**_

"_**Now all I need...**_

"_**Desperately..."**_

"_**Is my star to come..."**_

_As the song played in his mind, Rikuo clutched his hikari tightly to his chest. The words played in his soul, and reminded him that...there was always hope. "Daniel...I will protect you...if not in this life...then the next..."_

"_**When the horizon darkens most,"**_

"_**We all need to believe there is hope,"**_

_---------------_

Do you understand? Do you see the truth?

**No…I don't understand…**

_----------------_

_Sestros grinned at the vacant look in Rikuo's eyes. The wolf demon had stopped moving completely at this point. ("It's over, and I win.") "Rikuo, you've improved a lot since our last battle, but in the end I am still the better duelist. Whatever hopes you have won't be enough." The darkness flowed around his arms and legs. "In this place, darkness reigns supreme!"_

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_("I'm...so...r...") Rikuo's mind continued to slip away. There was almost nothing left of it now, and very soon he'd crack._

"_**Wishing on a dream that seems far-off,"**_

"_**Hoping it will come today,"**_

_The voices started to go silent, the strange music echoing amongst the collective thoughts of the human race. It was such a peaceful sound, that even the darkest soul had to be silent in its presence. **("Rikky...")**_

_Sestros heard it too, and his head snapped around as he heard the song begin. "Who is that?" ("I can swear I heard that voice once before!")_

"_**Into the starlit night,"**_

_Rikuo's body had stopped trembling. His shoulders were heaving with the movement of his lungs, which were taking in a huge lungful of air._

"_**Foolish Dreamers turn their gaze,"**_

_He slowly came to his feet. "Sestros...Unforgivable..."_

"_**Waiting on a shooting star,"**_

_The Torture King roared into the darkness, "Silence! Stop singing!" ("Damn, he's snapping out of it.")_

"_**But...What if that star is not to come?"**_

"_You've hurt so many...and most of all..." Rikuo's hand came up to his deck, and his eyes slowly rose to meet the Torture King's. "...you've harmed my friends!"_

_Sestros threw back his head, laughing sharply. "You have no friends! You were a heartless killer in your past life and you still are one now!"_

"_**Will their dreams fade to nothing?"**_

"_That was the old me, the one that you perverted with your evil." Kneeling, Rikuo picked up the card he had dropped._

"_**When the horizon darkens most,"**_

_Sestros snickered, "What makes you different than you were before? You're still the same stuck-up, inconsiderate bastard that you were previously. I don't see any difference."_

_Drawing, Rikuo closed his eyes. "The difference? This difference is that I gained something I never had before..."_

"_**We all need to believe there is hope,"**_

"_...faith." Rikuo slid the card he had picked up into his duel disk. "I play the ritual magic card Hope of Faith!" His field was surrounded by a halo of light. "This card requires that I sacrifice one monster on my field, so farewell Jinzo!" The green armored humanoid faded away. "And now, I summon the two warriors of Light and Darkness!" A pair of humanoid forms lowered onto his field._

_The first form was an armored warrior in black, it humanoid face fair but scowling. Opening its golden-amber eyes, the warrior snapped up his sword. "I am Yami Knight!" (6000/0)_

_The second form was another armored warrior, but this one in white. Its humanoid face was exactly like the others, except that it had a pair of brown eyes instead of golden ones and it was smiling. "I am Hikari Knight!" (0/6000)_

_They lifted their swords and touched them together. "And we will destroy the darkness that you have brought to this world!"

* * *

_

Your father is a great warrior of the light. He long ago purged the nightmarish darkness that Sestros had placed within his soul. His love won that duel, for without it the Torture King would have destroyed all humans. And with all of his heart he loves you…

**I can't win…my deck is getting destroyed with every card I send to the graveyard. Even if those cards were of a Soul Deck…they would still be utterly removed from my heart. I don't want to do that to my monsters. If I show compassion like my father then I will still have to surrender…**

No. There is a way. A power that only the most soulful of individuals can use. 

**I am no such thing. I am Erika Amero, daughter of the legend Rikuo Amero. That is all. Any memories of me will be long lost within the vortex of time…while ones such as Ichigo will live on. I've dueled him…and he is something I am not. He is strength of will embodied. And though my will is strong, it is breakable, unlike his.**

…………….

**I am not a hero. I am a creature of darkness…and am evil…**

….My dear Eri…dear grandchild…

**What? Who are you?**

My name is Celest. I am the daughter of Count Rikuo Cherista. I married Entirius Amero…the Wolf Demon Lord. And when my father was killed by the Torture Demon King Solster Sestros, I wept. My child is named after my father. He is Rikuo Amero, the legendary bearer of the Slayer of Gods. He is Rikuo Amero, the leader of the Demon Lords. But most of all he is Rikuo Amero, my little boy. The one who, even after his soul was infused with darkness, managed to hold onto that single sliver of faith that blossomed into a power capable of allowing him to master the gods, summon the knights of legend, and defeat the demon mage who planned to unravel the world.

**Why tell me this? I can never reach his strength…that much is clear. Must you flaunt it in my face?**

Erika…there is a strength in you that even could never hope to match. It is the fact that your soul was never washed in the darkness, like his was. His will took him to heights of power beyond that of even the greatest warriors of legend. And yet…and yet he…

**He looked upon me. I was his daughter, but he never expected me to take up his mantle as a warrior. Just because I am a girl. It is the way of the wolf demon tribe…women do not lead…or become legends…**

Yet he hoped you would always surpass him. That would you find a power that he can ever achieve. Your father is waiting for you at the top Erika. For you to start climbing that path…all you have to do is tap into the power. The power that Ichigo found to defeat the first Speaker. The power of a deck even stronger than a Soul Deck.

**What…are you talking about? How could I achieve any such power?**

The path simple waits to be walked. The power of a Soul Force Deck. A deck of a legend…one meant to be remembered forever. Stand up…stand up and reach that power now.

Eri's eyes opened. "I will not fall to your tricks!" An explosion of dark energy blew the mists away.

Scion's eyes widened. "What is this? The little girl wants to fight?" He smirked. "Then draw your last card."

Eri drew, the energy still roiling around her. "I summon Darkness Force-Recovery Girl!" (500/500) A short black-winged angel in black leather appeared on the field. "When I have no cards in play or in my hand this monster forces us to both draw until we have five cards in hand!" They both drew. "Now, let the real duel begin!"

_To be continued…_

_Ichigo here. Yeah, I'm still down for the count. But at the moment Eri is dueling for her life in a dream world against one of Midnight's crazy Speakers. She's woken up some kind of weird new set of cards…but can it be enough for her to defeat the power of her own father?_

_Next Episode: Power of the Soul Force Deck revealed_

To Seeker of the Soul: Yup, Dark Halo is a great duelist.

To G.O.T. Nick: If it was impressive as Eikyuu's run then Midnight would be dead right now.

To omegadragon: Errr….huh? I'm not entirely sure what you are writing.

To Arathir: Thank you for the congratulations.

To Star AJT: No, Dark Halo defeated 129 wraiths in a few moves.

To Dais: There you go. New chapter.

To falcon demon general: Errr…that's what happens.

To Gryphinwyrm7: Midnight wants something located in the Duelist Academy.

To Hogwarts-Knight: I'm not sure that there will be Midnight creaming in this arc.

To Rex: Thank you.


	18. Power of the Soul Force Deck revealed

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 18: Power of the Soul Force Deck revealed

_Eri's eyes opened. "I will not fall to your tricks!" An explosion of dark energy blew the mists away._

_Scion's eyes widened. "What is this? The little girl wants to fight?" He smirked. "Then draw your last card."_

_Eri drew, the energy still roiling around her. "I summon Darkness Force-Recovery Girl!" (500/500) A short black-winged angel in black leather appeared on the field. "When I have no cards in play or in my hand this monster forces us to both draw until we have five cards in hand!" They both drew. "Now, let the real duel begin!"_

Scion frowned. ("How did she recover?")

Eri fanned out her hand. "From my hand I activate the magic card Forced Shuffle! This card forces us both to shuffle our graveyards into our decks and our hands as well. Then we draw the same number of cards." Her deck shimmered and grew in size until it filled her whole deck slot. On her field the Recovery Girl disappeared. "All cards I have in play return to my deck as well."

The mist began to reform around both of them.

Eri fanned out her hand. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Scion drew. "I'll destroy you. Rikuo, attack her life points directly!"

Eri snapped her hand down at her set card. "Go Dark Force Seal!" A symbol appeared in the air in front of her. "This card activates when the only monsters in play are yours! All monsters in play are removed from play!"

Rikuo faded away into mist. Scion snarled and slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down and one monster face-down. End turn."

Eri drew. "I summon Darkness Force-Raven Blade (1800/600) in attack mode! Attack the set monster now!" A masked black-winged humanoid holding a black sword appeared in play and slashed through the set monster. "Also, I set two cards face-down. End turn."

Scion drew. "I summon Dream Chaser (2000/2000) in attack mode. This monster may not attack during the turn it is summoned and cannot be summoned unless Dream Land is in play." A strange rainbow-colored soldier appeared in play. "End turn."

Eri drew. "You're hoping to put me on the defensive? It's not going to happen! Go Darkness Force-Poison Piper (800/1500) in attack mode!" A woman in black leather holding a blow-gun appeared on the field. "I use its special ability to drain 800 attack points from Dream Chaser's original attack score!" She shoved a dart into the gun and fired it at the soldier. (1200/2000) "Raven Blade, Feather Slash!" The warrior flew across the field and passed through the other warrior like a phantom. Seconds later Dream Chaser exploded.

Scion- 3050

Eri- 650

Eri remembered what the effect of Dream Land did. "You cannot take damage…so I have to end my turn."

"Right." Scion drew. "I play the magic card Dream Switch. This card destroys one monster you have in play and lets me summon one Dream monster from my hand to the field." Both Raven Blade and Poison Piper exploded.

"How did you destroy both of my monsters?" Eri growled in surprise.

"The effect of the monster you destroyed before, Dream Sprite (300/200), lets me remove it from play while Dream Land is in play to activate one magic card I play two times." Scion slapped two cards down. "So I'll summon Dream Archer (1100/0) and Dream Angler (1700/1600) to finish you off!"

"Hold it!" Eri pointed at one of her set cards. "First Call of the Haunted will revive Poison Piper!" The woman reappeared on the field. "Then I activate my other set card! Go Darkfire Explosion!" Poison Piper smirked and the field exploded into flames. "I sacrifice my monster to destroy all face-up monsters in play with attack points more than her!"

Scion slammed a card down. "I'll still hold my own with a monster in defense and another card face-down. End turn."

Eri drew. "Don't worry about holding your own. By the time I'm done you'll be dead. Go Darkness Force-Crash Fighter (1500/1300) in attack mode!" A huge woman in black leather appeared on the field and slammed her fists together. "Crush the set monster now!" She leapt forward and punched into the set card, blowing it apart.

"How did you do that?" Scion frowned. "My monster had 1800 defense points."

"But only 1300 attack points. And when Crash Fighter battles with a monster its lowest score is applied to her highest score to determine who wins." Eri sneered. "End turn."

Scion drew. "I summon Dream Parasite (1100/200) to the field in attack mode." A phantasmal bug appeared on the field. "Attack her life points directly!" It flickered out of sight, and then appeared next to Eri to bite her neck. "This monster cannot deal life point damage. It instead equips to you. During each of your standby phases the top five cards of your deck are discarded. End turn."

Eri winced in pain at the teeth that continued to stay locked to her neck. "Draw!" Pain spiked up through her as the Parasite destroyed a part of that which was both her soul and her essence. "I…could attack…but it would do no good. End turn."

Scion drew. "All I have to do is sit back and let the Parasite drain you of your deck. End turn."

Eri drew…and screamed as the pain hit her in an even stronger wave. "Once again…end turn."

Scion drew. "I set one card face-down. End turn." Now he had three set cards, and with each one he possessed a different method of defending himself. Not that it mattered. As long as Dream Land was in play all life point damage to him was zero.

Eri drew and managed to stop herself from crying out in pain as the Parasite bit even harder. "End turn…."

Scion drew. "Just surrender. Even if you draw a card to remove the Parasite I'll still have nearly destroyed most of your deck. End turn."

Eri drew. "I'll never give up." Pain spiked up her left arm and it went numb. "End turn." A spark of extra pain came with this five card loss. And she realized why when she felt into her graveyard. ("Heavy Storm is in there…but that won't help me…") Her eyes widened as she looked at her hand. ("Then again…") A cold smile came across her face and she slid a card into her graveyard. "From my hand I activate the magic card Feather of the Dark Phoenix! By discarding one magic card from my hand I can take back one magic card from my graveyard!"

"So what? What card could you…" Scion went silent as he saw Eri's cold smirk. "What are you smiling about, brat?"

Eri's graveyard began to glow. "I offer Curse of the Shaman to take back Heavy Storm! Go now!" An explosion of wind tore through the mist. "All magic and trap cards in play will now be destroyed!" Dream Land exploded, as did Scion's three set cards and the Parasite. "Crash Fighter, now's your chance! Direct attack!" The amazon warrior leapt across the field and punched Scion right in the chest. "End turn!"

Scion- 1550

Eri- 650

Scion drew. "First I summon Dream Guardian (1100/1900) in defense mode." A stone statue of a sleeping man appeared on the field. "Now I play the magic card Sacrifice Down. This card lets me discard one card from my hand to lower the amount of monsters needed for an effect by one. So now I need to only sacrifice one monster to activate the effect of the Guardian!" The Statue exploded and the giant castle of Dream Land appeared in play. "End turn."

Eri drew. "Now that my deck isn't draining itself, I should be able to draw a card capable of taking you down. For now though I set one monster face-down and end my turn."

Scion drew. "Hmm…are you so certain? I activate the equipment magic card Sands of Sleep Control! Equip to Crash Fighter!" The giant woman turned and punched Eri's set card, revealing a little girl who cried out right before she exploded into dust. "As long as Dream Land is in play this monster obeys me. End turn."

Eri drew. "I'm tired of this game. I summon Darkness Force-Command Mistress (1800/1300) in attack mode!" A woman in black leather, lipstick and boots with a whip in one hand appeared on the field. "Attack Crash Fighter!"

"Are you foolish? Your own monster's special effect will kill you." Scion pointed at Crash Fighter. "Fight back!"

Eri smirked. "Are you so sure? Command Mistress switches the mode of whatever monster she attacks." Crash Fighter dropped to one knee right before the whip slammed across her face and she exploded into dust. "End turn."

Scion drew. "I activate Monster Reborn!" Dream Parasite reappeared on the field. "Attack directly!" It appeared next to Eri and bit her neck. "End turn!"

Eri paled and drew, feeling that familiar tingle of pain as the bug drained away more of her essence. ("My deck is nearing empty…") "I set one monster face-down and end my turn."

Scion drew. Looking at the drawn card, he smirked. "Child, let me remind you of hell! Go Gate of Nightmares!"

Eri's eyes widened. ("No…") Her set monster and Command Mistress exploded as a huge black stone gate shot up out of the ground behind Scion.

Scion pointed to the open gateway. "Let your nightmare emerge!" Nothing happened. "What?"

"The effect of Gate of Nightmares lets you summon a copy of one monster that has been removed from play. After that the monster card is permanently destroyed. Hence there are no cards for you to copy!" Eri winked cutely. "And on that note, I no longer have a fear. I am no longer afraid!"

Scion frowned. "End turn."

Eri closed her eyes, and a phantom version of Rikuo appeared in front of her. ("Yes…my father. I shall save you and show you what I have achieved. But first…") She drew. And as she looked at the drawn card her lips lifted up. "It's time to end your dreams of winning! I summon Darkness Force-Storm Master!" (1700/700) A man in black armor holding a pair of wands appeared in play. "Now for a magic card, Dark Wing Burst. This card will activate when a Darkness Force monster is in play. All magic and trap cards will be destroyed at the cost of my battle phase!" A storm of black air slammed into Dream Land and blew it apart.

Scion barely reacted. "Therefore you cannot attack my life points."

Eri smirked. "I'm far from done. Monster Reborn activates!" Poison Piper reappeared on the field. "These two monsters will finish you off."

"How? You can't attack."

"Attack or not….this move will make Ichigo proud!" Eri snapped her last card up. "Polymerization!" Both of her monsters were sucked into a vortex of energy. "Emerge…Darkness Force-Poison Storm!" (1500/500) A woman surrounded by a cloud of dark smoke appeared on the field. "This monster's special ability allows me to once per turn, at the cost of my battle phase, deal her attack in damage to your life points!" A spear of black smoke flew from Poison Storm that hit Scion in the chest.

Scion- 50

Eri- 650

Scion stumbled. "I still have my life points!"

"No, you don't!" A card shot out of Eri's graveyard. "I activate the effect of Darkness Force-Poison Piper! By removing this card from my graveyard I can deal you 500 life points of damage!" A dart flew from the card and stabbed right into his neck. "Welcome to my dream."

Scion- 0

Eri- 650

* * *

Davis poked Eri a couple more times. "Hey, stand up already."

Eri's eyes slowly opened and she stood up just in time to get glomped by Alahandra. "I was so worried about you Eri! I thought that mean man was going to hurt you!"

The demoness sighed. "I think I'd have preferred that to having you hang off of me."

* * *

Midnight frowned. "Another deck that is immune to the Eternal Death power? This is becoming a problem…" He snapped his fingers. "Speaker, come to me."

A shadowed form appeared in front of him. "Yes master?"

"You are the most adept at infiltrating the human society. Go make sure those children do not get a chance to return here."

"As you wish milord." The form bowed and disappeared.

_To be continued…_

_What? Davis works for the Shadow Corporation? Oh man…this is the last thing we need. Huh? They're going to help us stop Midnight? Then what's the point of going to carnival? It serves no purpose!_

_Next Episode: Clowns and Scorpions, Animals and Dragons, and much more!_

To Hogwarts-Knight: Stop asking rhetorical questions that you know I'll never answer.

To Raine Vindicare: Sure, you can use those cards if you want.


	19. Battle under the Big top revised

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 19: Clowns and Scorpions, Animals and Dragons, and much more!

Ichigo slowly opened his eyes and yawned. "So what did I miss?" He cleared his vision and realized that there was a small army of men with guns surrounding him. "Uhhh…"

**_("So the humans want to fight? Very well, let me kill them.")_**

_("No! Ichigo, don't listen to that meanie!")_

("Hey, how about both of you be quiet.") The half demon stood up and a rifle barrel pressed right into his right cheek. "What's the deal?"

"We're here to make sure that you don't cause any problems."

Ichigo smirked slightly. "Really?" His hand snapped up and knocked the rifle barely away. Immediately fifty different guns were pointed right at him. "Calm down. Where's Eri?"

"She's currently being de-briefed."

_**("Just kill them already!")**_

Ichigo frowned. "Take me to her right now."

They didn't move.

Ichigo growled. "Five…" His hair shimmered black.

All of the guns fired at once…and then exploded.

Ichigo snarled. "And we just went straight to zero." His irises turned black.

* * *

Eri glared at Davis from across the table. "Well? Are we just going to sit here all day?" 

Davis readjusted his cowboy hat and sighed. "Relax Eri. We're nearly done here."

The demoness snarled, her fangs glittering in the dim light. "I will eat your soul."

"Never on a first date." Davis ducked under a punch that left a hole in the stone behind him. "Sheesh…I knew you'd do that."

An explosion rang outside the small room.

Davis looked over at the thick steel door….and blinked in surprise as the metal started to twist. "What the hell is that?"

The door tore outwards to reveal Ichigo standing there calmly, his body surrounded by an aura of black fire. "I'm here to get you guys out of here. Let's go."

Eri started to stand up…

Davis hopped up and shook his head. "Relax! Stop blowing stuff up!"

Ichigo glared right at him. "Shut up. You're working for these guys aren't you?"

Davis sighed and held up his hands. "Relax and let me explain."

* * *

Ichigo frowned and glared at the guards surrounding him coldly. "I'll kill all of you without regret if you so much as touch anyone wrong." 

Davis sighed for the tenth time in the last hour. "Calm down Ichigo! Don't you understand what the truth is? The Shadow Corporation is no longer corrupt. They aren't good guys, but they don't want Midnight to succeed at his plans."

Krieger frowned. He had heard from his father about the evils of the Shadow Corporation, and it left a bad taste in his mouth that he was working with them. "So what do you want with us?"

"Nothing. The Shadow Corporation wants to make sure that all of you can defeat Midnight's speakers." Davis sighed. "So stop getting mad at them. They put me into the academy…"

"Because you're the son of the president." Eri glared at him. "Don't think that I'm stupid. Uncle Ryu knew about you since day one."

Griff sighed. "You're crazy…he's offering to help us. Without him we would be dead."

Ichigo frowned. "The Shadow Corporation and my father are not friends in the slightest. And as such I don't like them."

* * *

"Ah, the roar of the crowd! The beauty of the ring! I love it!" A dark-covered form danced along the backstage area, hopping over numerous different objects and fixtures with the grace of a ballerina. "Where are you, my dears? Come to papa!"

A symphony of different roars, barks, hisses, and squawks was his reply.

* * *

Ichigo sighed and glared at Davis again. "So tell me again why we're at a carnival?"

"Because we have a couple of days of free time while the Shadow Corporation prepares to deal with Midnight." Davis walked backwards, not worried about tripping over anything. They had been dropped off in Kyoto. "And so we may as well go to something that I know will cheer you up."

"Oh, and what is that?" Ichigo's voice died in his throat as he saw what Davis was talking about. "Maybe Shadow Corporation isn't so bad…" He broke into a run towards what stood in front of him.

Eri, Krieger and Griff all stared too. "A Duel Monsters Carnival?"

* * *

The dark form stopped its dancing and cocked its head to one side. "What's this? I have guests! And not just any guests of great power, but exactly what the master told me to look for!" He moved so fast that there was a small cloud of dust where he had been standing. "I must make sure they have a fun time!"

* * *

They had managed to get front row tickets…and they were in for a surprise.

Out in the three rings were all kinds of Duel Monster holograms, programmed for different purposes. One was a Dark Magician with Dark Magician Girl, both performing incredible feats of magic.

Another was a group of Peten the Dark Clowns that were performing a comedy act.

And in the last act there was something amazing in itself. It was a black-cloaked form performing card tricks. Not just any kind of card tricks though. One of its favorite moves seemed to be throwing a card towards the audience, just to have it spin around and return to his hand.

Ichigo looked like a child as he leaned over the railing. "This is cool!"

Krieger grinned. "Yeah, it's pretty funny."

Griff looked happy, but not excessively so. "You're such a dunce Ichigo."

Eri didn't look entertained at all. "I was hoping for at least some kind of violence. Maybe a couple of monsters fighting to the death."

Out in the ring the black-cloaked form brought its eyes upon the four. ("Ah yes…such a happy group they look. However….like all happy groups they must be put to the test!") "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to say hello to you finally! But first, before the show can begin…" He caught the cards that had been flying around him and shuffled them together into a deck. "I'll need a volunteer from the audience!" Snapping his fingers, he grinned under his cloak as the Petens all broke off from their act and leapt into the audience.

Eri blinked in surprise as one of the clowns grabbed her wrist. Seconds later that arm was lying in the center ring of the tent. "Keep your hands off!"

Ichigo sighed. "You're no fun at all Eri. They just want to make you a star."

The Peten nodded repeatedly, its missing arm shimmering back into place.

Eri glared at it. "No way."

The Dark Clown's mask turned into a sad face, and it pulled out a handkerchief. It began to cry, and blew into the piece of cloth, which grew to the size of a blanket and fell over Eri's head.

The demoness snarled. "I'm going to…" The blanket-sized piece of cloth fell to the ground, nothing underneath it.

Ichigo stared wide-eyed at the ground. And then started clapping, along with the rest of the audience. "That was so cool!"

The black-cloaked form motioned with his finger and the cloth flew from the stands to his arm. "Allow me to introduce our volunteer!" He rolled it up into a ball and tossed the ball of to another Peten, who caught it and climbed up a rope out of sight. "And if the lady's three friends would like to come down here, they can participate as well!"

Ichigo, Krieger and Griff all looked at each other and shrugged. The rest of the audience applauded them as the Petens helped them on their way down to the ring.

"Thank you so much for coming down to join the fun!" The black-cloaked figure threw back a piece of the cloth to reveal a blue hand. "Now, let's make sure to give them all a great show!" In a voice so low that only their ears could hear he added, "Because losing isn't a laughing matter."

All three of them blinked in surprise at that. ("Huh?")

The figure pointed up into the air. "Bring her on down boys!"

"….rip your head off and stuff it up your ass!" Eri looked around in confusion as she was lowered down over the ring in a giant clear plastic box. "Hey! How'd I get in here?"

Ichigo looked up…and then down at the figure. "So…how are we supposed to help?"

"It's quite simple, my dear boy!" The cloaked figure leapt high into the air, and then at the apex of the leap the cloak, now owner-less, fluttered to the ground. "You must save the girl!" A curled form spun down and straightened out just in time to land.

And what a form it was. It resembled a clown and a court jester all at once, with the cap and bells and all. But its colors were dark purple, black, and blue, as was its skin. "Greetings gentlemen!" The clown took a deep bow. "My name is Jester…" His white face and huge nose could have been considered comedic, except that his eyes said otherwise. They shimmered with a darkness that sent chills down the three boys' spines. "…and I am the Speak of Comedy!" He began to dance around. "Welcome to the Circus of Darkness!"

The Petens began to clap from their positions, some hanging on ropes and others up out of sight. The audience applauded too, just because they thought it was all part of the act.

Ichigo grimaced. "A Speaker of Midnight…" ("Damn it…that's what I get for dropping my defenses.")

_**("You deserve it, you big child. If it had been me that never would have happened.")**_

Griff growled low in his throat. "Let Eri go, you clown…"

"Why should I?" Jester stopped dancing and pulled a small metal stick out of nowhere. "It would be no fun at all! So instead, let's have a duel for the girl's fate!"

"I'll take you on…" Ichigo cracked his knuckles. "And I'll bust that nose of yours while I'm at it."

Jester laughed crazily. "Silly boy, you can't be the star of the show! It just wouldn't be fair! Your friends will duel a couple friends of mine…" He snapped his fingers and the Dark Magician from before appeared, a duel disk on one arm. "Now then…who will be first?"

Krieger glanced back at Ichigo and then stepped forward. "I'll take this one."

Jester snapped his finger and a duel disk appeared on the boy's arm. "Then go now child, enjoy the duel! Of course…like all darkness games there will be a penalty if you fail." The clown tapped the stick against a beam. "Like so many of my victims before, you will be turned into an animal if you do lose."

Krieger- 4000

Magician- 4000

Krieger slammed his deck into place and drew six cards. "I'm first! Draw!" He fanned the card out and slapped a card down. "Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 4 (1600/1000) in attack mode!" A metal bird-like dragon appeared on the field and screeched. "Also, I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Magician drew. "I summon Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200) in defense mode!" A woman in black robes appeared on the field in a crouching position. "I also set one card face-down. End turn."

Krieger drew. "I activate the magic card Level Up! This card levels up Horus!" The dragon grew in size. "Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 6!" (2300/1600) "Attack the Witch now!" It sprayed the woman with black fire that destroyed her. "During the end phase of this turn Horus levels up!" Horus grew in size. "Horus the…"

"Reverse card open!" Magician pointed at its set card. "Go Torrential Tribute!" An explosion of water rocketed up and swallowed up Horus instantly. "This trap destroys all monsters in play when one is summoned. Also, Witch of the Black Forest's special ability lets me search my deck for a monster with 1500 or less defense points." After adding a card to his hand he drew. "Now I summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer (1800/700) to the field in attack mode!" A monk wearing half of a mask appeared on the field.

"Reverse card open!" Krieger pointed at one of his set cards. "Call of the Haunted revives Horus Level 6!" The medium-sized dragon reappeared and roared loudly. "Sorry, but you won't get to my life points that easily."

Magician slid a card into his disk. "I play the Shallow Grave card! This will revive one monster from both of our graveyards in defense mode!" Witch of the Black Forest appeared on his field in a crouching position, while Horus Level 4 appeared in a crouching position alongside its older form. "Then I set one card face-down. End turn."

Krieger drew. "Now I play the magic card Graveyard in the Fourth Dimension!" His graveyard spat out a card. "So now I shuffle Horus Level 8 into my deck. Now I switch Horus 4 into attack mode!" The dragon stood up. "Black Fire Burst!" It screeched and sprayed Witch of the Black Forest with fire, burning it to ash.

Magician took a card from his deck and added it to his hand.

Krieger pointed at Kycoo. "Black Fire Flash!" Horus 6 sprayed Kycoo and the spellcaster exploded.

Krieger- 4000

Magician- 3500

Krieger smiled slightly. "End turn!" Energy shimmered around Horus Level 6. "Level up!" It grew in size and roared. "Horus the Black Flame Level 8 (3000/1800) is special summoned! Also, reverse card open!" A golden net appeared on the field. "Golden Net of Light activates when a card would go to my graveyard! Instead it goes into my deck!" He shuffled Horus 6 into his deck and pointed at Horus 4. "Level up!" It screeched as it turned into level 6. (2300/1600)

Magician frowned and drew. "One monster face-down and that is all."

Krieger drew. "I set two cards face-down. Horus 6, attack the set monster! Black Fire Flash!" The dragon sprayed the set card and exploded into dust. "What?"

Magician smirked. "You just attacked Death Magician (1500/1500) and when it is flipped the attacking monster is destroyed. Also, I discard two cards from my hand to destroy another monster." Horus 8 exploded.

Krieger paled. "End turn."

Magician drew. "I sacrifice Death Magician for Magical Marionette." (2000/1000) A wooden doll holding a pair of knives appeared on the field. "Direct attack!" It leapt across the field and stabbed Krieger right in the chest. "End turn."

Krieger- 2000

Magician- 3500

Krieger growled and drew. "I play the magic card Pot of Greed!" He drew two cards, leaving him with four. "Now, the magic card Monster Reborn! Return now Horus 6!" The medium dragon reappeared on the field. "Attack now! Black Fire Flash!"

Ichigo gasped. "Krieger no!"

Horus opened its jaws and sprayed an arrow of black fire towards the doll.

Magician chuckled. "Bad idea boy. Every time a magic card is activated a counter is given to my monster. For every counter its attack goes up by 200 points." (2400/1000)

Griff paled. "Oh no…Krieger just sent Horus to its death…"

Krieger smirked. "I activate the quickplay magic card Rush Recklessly! This card raises my monster's attack power by 700 points! Even though this gives your monster another boost, it doesn't matter!" (3000/1600) (2600/1000) The doll shattered as the fire arrow pierced its shell.

Krieger- 2000

Magician- 3100

Magician grimaced. "Damn you…"

Krieger snapped up another card. "Also, I play Graveyard in the Fourth Dimension!" Horus 8 and 4 were shuffled into his deck. "Finally, I set one card face-down. End turn!" Horus 6 shimmered and grew into Level 8.

Magician drew. "It's no good. You're about to lose."

"Really? You are playing a spellcaster deck. And spellcaster decks need magic cards to work." Krieger left it at that. While Horus Level 8 was in play he could negate any magic card that his opponent played.

Magician pointed at his set. "I activate Magician's Wisdom! This card requires that I have five spellcasters in my graveyard. By discarding another one, I can special summon any spellcaster from my deck to the field! So I summon myself!" (2500/2100) He leapt onto the field.

Krieger smiled. "I'm not afraid."

"You should be!" Magician held up a card. "Go Thousand Knives! This card will let me destroy one monster in play!"

"Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 8's special ability will let me negate that card!" Krieger pointed at it. "Go Horus!"

Magician waved his hand and a storm of knives appeared around him. "Magician's Wisdom, during the activated turn, makes all magic cards impossible to negate!" The knives launched forward and stabbed into Horus' chest, blowing it apart. "Now prepare for the end! Direct attack!" His staff appeared in his hand and he pointed it at the boy.

Krieger pointed at his set card. "Horus the Black Flame's Revenge!" He smiled slightly as the set card flipped up. "This card can only activate when Horus is destroyed. Your turn ends!" He drew. "I play the magic card Dragon Templar! This card special summons three Dragon Templar Tokens (300/300) to the field!" A trio of dragons appeared on the field in crouching positions. "End turn."

Magician drew. "I play my Pot of Greed." He drew two cards. "Now I summon Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700) and play the magic card Diffusion Wave Motion!" A magician that looked like an inexperienced version of the Dark Magician appeared in play. "At the cost of 1000 life points Diffusion Wave Motion lets Dark Magician attack all three of your monsters!" He snapped his staff up from out of nowhere and a wave of magic shattered the three dragons. "Direct attack!" Skilled Dark Magician leapt in front of Krieger and slammed its staff against his back. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Krieger- 100

Magician- 3100

Krieger stood up slowly. "I won't lose. Draw!" He looked at the drawn card. "I activate the magic card Black Fire Bang!" A ball of black fire appeared over his head. "This card is the end. You will take 300 life points of damage for every magic card in both of our graveyards!"

Magician's eyes widened. "No…"

"Take this!" The fireball launched towards the Dark Magician and slammed into him, leaving nothing but a few scorch-marks in the dirt.

Krieger- 100

Magician- 0

The audience exploded into wild applause.

Jester frowned. "Well that's no fun. It looks like round one goes to you, boys."

Krieger took a deep breath and sat down. "We need to do more?"

Griff stepped forward. "I'll take whatever is next."

Ichigo nodded.

Jester smirked. "Then let the games continue."

_To be continued…_

_Come on Griff, give it your best! Take down that clown's servant! Huh…Ultimate Clown?_

_Next Episode: Clowning Around_

To Raine Vindicare: I'll send them when I can.

To falcon demon general: Yeah, it is her new deck.

To Bobbomp and Anime Albino: What would I answer with? You didn't give me any questions or comments worth replying to.

To Dais: You're totally wrong. Cyber Shadows, Divine Agents, Torture Villains, Hidden Spirits, and one other deck type. Those are the five warrior decks.


	20. Clowning Around

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 20: Clowning Around

_Krieger took a deep breath and sat down. "We need to do more?"_

_Griff stepped forward. "I'll take whatever is next."_

_Ichigo nodded._

_Jester smirked. "Then let the games continue."_

Griff stepped forward and lifted his arm. "Give me a disk."

Jester snapped his fingers and the device appeared around the boy's arm. "Are you ready then?" He whistled into his finger and a little clown car about the size of a dog rolled up. "Come on out boys!" The door opened and a mob of Peten the Dark Clowns started pouring out. One of the Petens bowed to Griff and lifted its arm, a duel disk on its arm. "Duel!"

Peten- 4000

Griff- 4000

Peten drew, while the audience quieted down. "Then I begin with Saggi the Dark Clown (600/1500) in defense mode. Also, I set two cards face-down and end my turn." An ugly clown appeared on the field in a crouching position.

Griff drew, while the crowd started to laugh. "Huh? Why's everyone…?" He realized why when he looked over at his opponent's field.

Saggi stuck its tongue out at him, and started dancing around.

"You…little…" Griff looked at the drawn card. "I summon A Man with Wdjat (1600/1600) in attack mode!" A man in purple robes appeared on the field. "Magical Sands!" A ball of earth shot from the man's wrist and hit the clown. "Gotcha!"

Peten started to laugh. "Reveal Deck Destruction Virus!"

"Oh no!" Griff stared in horror as a purple smoke sprayed over his field and into his deck. A number of cards exploded into dust. "That means all monsters on my field…" Man with Wdjat exploded. "…in my hand and in my deck with 1500 or more attack points are sent to the graveyard."

Peten blinked in surprise. "Why hasn't your deck been affected more?"

Griff sneered. "The joke's on you. Most of my monsters have less than 1500 attack points!" He slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Peten drew. "Now I summon Clown Knight (1800/1500) in attack mode!" A knight with a rainbow wig on its head and a rubber chicken in one hand appeared on the field. "Attack his life points directly!" It charged towards Griff cackling.

Griff pointed at his set card. "Go Treasure Trap!" A huge hole opened up underneath the Knight and dropped it out of sight. "This card destroys your monster and lets us both draw one card." They both drew a card.

Peten snickered and slid another card into his disk. "I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Griff drew. ("I still have plenty of monsters that could fight. However…") "First I play Pot of Greed!" He drew two cards. "Now I summon Dark Scorpion-Chick the Yellow (1000/1000) and attack your life points directly!" The mallet-wielding thief appeared and charged towards Peten.

Peten pointed at its set card. "Go Send in the Clowns! This trap card lets me summon one Clown from my hand if I want!" Another Saggi appeared on the field and Chick backed off.

Griff growled. "End turn."

Peten drew. "I sacrifice Saggi…." The clown disappeared and was replaced by another clown, this one wearing a suit of high-powered armor. "Jet Clown!" (2000/1600) "Attack Chick now!" It launched forwards and punched the thief, blowing it apart.

Peten- 4000

Griff- 3000

Peten started to cackle. "Jet Clown, when it deals you damage, forces one card at random from your hand and lets me draw one card!"

Griff growled as one of his hand cards disappeared. Now he only had five cards in his hand. And Peten had three cards in his hand now, along with his Jet Clown and set card.

Peten looked at his three cards and slid one into his disk. "One card face-down. End turn."

Griff drew. ("I'm running out of cards…") "First Giant Trunade sends all magic and trap cards in play back to their owner's hands!" Both of Peten's face-down cards disappeared. "Now I set one monster face-down and one card face-down. Then I play Tablet of Time!" He discarded his two hand cards. "Discard two cards."

Peten tossed two cards from his hand, leaving him with two cards.

Griff smirked and pointed at his set card. "Go Mirage of Nightmare!" His face-down card flipped up. "End turn."

Peten drew. "Since I have three cards…"

Griff drew four cards. "Mirage of Nightmare lets me draw until I have four cards in my hand."

Peten pointed at Jet Clown. "Attack now!" It launched across the field and slashed through the set monster.

Griff pointed at his field, where a cobra appeared on the field. "Cobra Jar (600/300) special summons a Cobra Token (500/1200) to the field in defense mode."

Peten smirked. "I set two cards face-down. End turn."

Griff drew. "Now I play the quickplay magic card Emergency Provisions!"

Peten saw the card appear on the field and pointed at his set card. "Go Forbidden Curse!" He discarded the card in his hand. "By discarding one trap card from my hand I can negate your magic card and force the top two cards off of your deck!" Emergency Provisions shimmered away.

Griff stared at his hand as the four cards disappeared. "Oh no…end….turn…"

Peten drew. "It's showtime folks!" He pointed at Griff. "So draw your four cards!"

Griff snarled and drew four cards through the effect of Mirage of Nightmare.

Peten slapped down a card. "Come on out me!" (500/1200) Another Peten appeared on his field. "Now I attack with Jet Clown!" The monster slashed through the Cobra Token and blew it apart. "Take this!" The other Peten leapt across the field and stabbed Griff right in the chest with a knife. "End turn."

Peten- 4000

Griff- 2500

Griff drew slowly. "I've got it…Mystical Space Typhoon!" A blast of wind shattered Mirage of Nightmare. "Now Mirage of Nightmare's effect is negated!" He looked at the four cards in his hand. ("This guy's strategy is so weird…") "I set one monster and one card face-down. End turn!"

Peten drew. "You're such a fool. Take this!" He slapped a card down. "Go Hell Clown (1300/1200) and attack the set monster!" A demon in clown make-up appeared on the field and charged forwards, slashing through the set card with a knife. "This monster negates your destroyed monster's effect."

Griff frowned calmly. "Damn…"

"Jet Clown, direct attack!" Peten pointed at him. "This duel is over!" The cyber clown launched towards Griff rapidly.

Griff pointed at his set card. "Go Return Fire!" An explosion shook the field and blew all three of Peten's monsters apart. "This trap card has the power to destroy all attack mode monsters on your field when there is ten or more monsters in my graveyard."

Peten pointed at his graveyard. "My special ability returns me to the field by removing the destroyed me!" Another of the strange clowns appeared on the field in a crouching position. "End turn."

Griff drew. "I summon Don Zaloog (1400/1500) to the field!" The white-haired king of thieves appeared on the field. "Attack Peten now!" Don snapped up two handguns and opened fire, blowing it apart.

Peten pointed at his set card. "Go Dark Genocide Virus!" His face-down card flipped up. "The effect of this continuous trap card is perfect in nature. When a dark monster with 500 or less attack points on my field is destroyed through battle then the destroying monster's owner loses ten random cards from his deck!" Phantom tentacles exploded out of the card and curled around Griff's disk.

The boy stared in fear as his deck shrank down to a tiny little group of cards. By his count there was only four remaining. "Damn you…I set one card face-down. End turn."

Peten pointed at his field and another Peten appeared. Then he drew. "Little child…you're far from ready to deal with my deck. Now I summon another Clown Knight!" Another of the comedic knights appeared on the field. "Attack now!" It charged across the field and slapped its rubber chicken across Don Zaloog's face, blowing him apart. "End turn."

Peten- 4000

Griff- 2100

Griff trembled weakly…and dropped to his knees. ("No…") He drew. ("For Sammy…for everyone…I'll fight!") "I summon Big Shield Gardna (100/2600) in defense mode!" A man holding a large shield in front of him appeared on the field in a crouching position. "End turn."

Peten drew. "This duel is done…" He snapped his card up. "The magic card Banana Cream Pie…of DOOM!"

Griff, despite the fact he was nearing exhaustion, face-fell. "That can't be its name…"

The card turned into a giant pie that rested in the clown's hand. "This card's special ability lets me discard the top two cards from your deck." He hurled the pie across the field and it slammed right into Griff's face.

Two of Griff's remaining three cards disappeared.

Peten cackled. "End turn!"

Griff looked down at his deck…and groaned. ("I…I…") He drew. ("The continuous magic card Souls of the Thief. This card lets me discard one card from my opponent's hand whenever one of my monsters deals life point damage. My other card is Charge of the Warriors. By discarding one magic card from my hand I can add the defense of one warrior monster I have in play to another warrior's attack. Also, that monster's attack is doubled…with it Big Shield Gardna's attack strength can become 5400. But it wouldn't be enough…unless.") He looked at his graveyard. ("One of the cards in there must be Trap Crash. It will destroy the Deck Genocide Virus…")

He looked at his set card. ("Perfect….I've got him.") "I have the combo to destroy you! From my graveyard I activate Trap Crash! By removing this card from play I can destroy your Virus!" The card exploded into dust.

Peten shrugged. "How can you possibly win?"

Griff pointed at Big Shield Gardna. "Attack mode!" The warrior stood up. "Now I discard a magic card from my hand to activate Charge of the Warriors!" (5400/0) "Now for my final blow…go Graverobber!" His face-down card flipped up. "And I'll use one of the cards you set earlier, thinking that you would trick me! Mechanical Magic Mirror!"

Snatch Steal appeared in his hand. "This will let me activate one magic card from my own graveyard, because it's your trap I am using!"

"How did you know that one of my cards was Mechanical Magic Mirror?" Peten looked a mix of surprised and angry.

"Just a guess really." Griff pointed at Clown Knight. "Clown Knight, obey me and attack Peten!" It turned and smacked the other clown with its chicken, blowing it apart. "Big Shield Gardna, direct attack!" The warrior charged forwards, lifting its shield to bash Peten in the head.

The clown looked at his empty field…and started to cackle. "Stupid fool! From my graveyard…I activate Clown Horn!" A huge cartoon horn appeared in front of him and a huge wall of sound slammed into Big Shield Gardna and sent it flying back to Griff's field. "By removing this card from my graveyard I can negate an attack."

Griff stood quietly, his eyes wide. "No…I had you…"

Peten drew. "End turn." A loud beep came from Griff's disk to indicate he had no cards in his deck, and as such lost by default.

Peten- 4000

Griff- Loss by Deck-out

A cloud of rainbow smoke enveloped Griff.

"NO!" Ichigo started to run towards the cloud. "Griff!" ("I won't lose anyone else…I won't…")

Jester hopped in front of him. "Come now, don't be a sour…"

Ichigo's eyes and hair flared black. "MOVE!" An explosion of power blew the clown out of the way. "GRIFF!" He dove through the cloud…but came out the other side with nothing but air. "Griff! Where are you?"

A whimper caught his attention up above. In the arms of one of the Petens was a small sand-colored dog. "GRIFF!" Ichigo's hand snapped up. "Die!" An explosion of energy flew from his hand and blew the Peten apart, leaving Griff in free-fall. Another Peten swung by and grabbed the dog, cackling up the point it was blown away by another Dark Halo charged blast.

And this kept going for a few minutes…until Ichigo dropped to one knee. ("No matter how hard I try…they just keep…") A foot slammed into his cheek, sending him skidding along the floor.

"What did I say?" Jester tapped his foot impatiently. "Your friend is ours. A new addition to my menagerie."

Ichigo slowly stood up, his hair brown. "I challenge you…and if you win, then the Dark Halo is yours!"

Jester smirked. "The Dark Halo huh? Well who could turn that proposition down?" He whistled and the Peten swung on their ropes up to the rafters. "Keep him safe boys…this shouldn't take long." A purple duel disk appeared on his arm. "Let's duel."

Ichigo resisted the urge to unleash Halo on this guy. ("No…he's mine...") A duel disk appeared on his arm and he slammed his disk into it. "Duel!"

Jester- 4000

Ichigo- 4000

_To be continued…_

_Ichigo…are you crazy? You're risking our best chance in this fight against Midnight to save Griff? Get your priorities straight! Oh man...you're losing?_

_Next Episode: Jester's Attack_

To Seeker of the Soul: Are you thinking of using some of those cards?

To G.O.T. Nick: Sorry about this…

To Just a Dude: Ahran is gone. His soul, like those of Rikuo and the others, are lost until Midnight is defeated.

To LucienShadowMaster: Put me on author alert then, you AH.

To Mario: It has holes for air. Jester just needed a reason to get them to duel.

To Bobbomp: No…you've mostly been spouting stupid stuff that it would serve no practical purpose to reply to. And I quote, "OMGWTFLOLBBQ! Ichigo... no... Dark Halo did it! Looks like I have a new favorite characters". Now what would I say in response to something like that which wouldn't make me look foolish?

To Anime Albino: Because he's a magician…and magicians are part of circus acts sometimes.


	21. Jester's Attack

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 21: Jester's Attack; The strike of Comedy's incarnate

_Jester smirked. "The Dark Halo huh? Well who could turn that proposition down?" He whistled and the Peten swung on their ropes up to the rafters. "Keep him safe boys…this shouldn't take long." A purple duel disk appeared on his arm. "Let's duel."_

_Ichigo resisted the urge to unleash Halo on this guy. ("No…he's mine...") A duel disk appeared on his arm and he slammed his disk into it. "Duel!"_

_Jester- 4000_

_Ichigo- 4000_

Jester drew, while the audience remained silent in a mix of fear and confusion. They weren't sure what was going on. "Don't worry ladies and gentlemen; it's all part of the act!"

The audience accepted that and started to applaud.

"I'll kill you." Ichigo snarled coldly.

Jester fanned out his hand. "We'll see about that. First the magic card Pot of Greed." He drew twice. "Now I set one card face-down. End turn."

Ichigo drew. ("No monsters? That's a shame for you.") "I summon Shining Force-Jungle Fighter (1500/1200) to the field!" A brown-skinned man holding a spear appeared on the field. "Attack his life points directly!"

"Reverse card open!" Jester's set card flipped up. "Protection from Harm. This card negates any effect or attack that would result in me taking damage and your turn ends immediately."

Ichigo paled.

Jester smirked and drew. "I summon Toon Gemini Elf (1900/900) to the field." A pair of cartoon woman appeared on the field alongside each other, blowing Ichigo kisses.

"Toons…" Ichigo frowned. ("I've heard of them…but never seen them played before.")

"During the turn these ladies are summoned they cannot attack, so for now you are safe. End turn." Jester smirked. "However…when they do attack your life points will be at zero…I promise you…"

Ichigo drew. "Keep believing that…" He looked at the drawn card. "Go field magic card! Shining Sanctuary!" Huge white pillars exploded all around them, and behind the half demon a large golden statue appeared. "While this card is in play all Shining Force monsters gain 600 attack points!" (2000/1200) "Also, I summon Shining Force-Heal Angel (2100/0) to the field!" A golden-robed angel appeared and landed next to Jungle Fighter. "Jungle Spear!" The wild warrior threw its weapon and somehow managed to pierce both Toon monsters, blowing them apart.

Jester- 3900

Ichigo- 4000

"I'm not done yet Jester! Heal Angel, direct attack!" The angel floated across the field and stabbed the clown with a syringe. She then floated over and injected Ichigo in the arm. "All life point damage Heal Angel deals to your life points is also the amount I gain. End turn."

Jester- 1800

Ichigo- 6100

Jester brushed himself off. "It's Showtime. Draw." He looked at the drawn card. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls…presenting the star of the show!" He slammed a card down. "Toon World!" A giant child's pop-up book appeared on his field. "At the cost of 1000 life points this card activates!"

Jester- 800

Ichigo- 6100

Ichigo narrowed his eyes. This was the key card of the Toon Deck.

Jester took another card from his hand. "Now that Toon World is in play I can normal summon these guys! Toon Goblin Attack Force!" (2300/0) The book opened to a page of a mountain. From within it a group of green cartoon goblins holding clubs appeared on the field. "Luckily for you, these monsters cannot attack during the turn they are summoned. End turn."

Ichigo drew. ("His monster is a little too strong for mine…") "I switch both of my monsters into defense mode. End turn." Both the Angel and Fighter dropped to one knee.

Jester drew. "Here we go…" He slapped another card onto his disk. "I special summon Toon Mermaid!" (1400/1500) A clam appeared on the field. "While Toon World is in play this monster can be special summoned. Now I sacrifice Toon Mermaid to summon Toon Dark Magician Girl!" (2000/1700) The clam disappeared and was replaced by a female version of the mighty magician Krieger had faced. "Now, direct attack!" She giggled and snapped her staff out, blasting Ichigo with energy.

Jester- 800

Ichigo- 4100

Ichigo dropped to one knee and grabbed at his chest. "What…how…?"

Jester laughed, as did the Dark Magician Girl. "While Toon World is in play all Toon monsters can attack your life points directly if you don't have a Toon monster in play."

Ichigo groaned and climbed to his feet. "You bastard…"

"Toon Goblin Attack Force can attack you directly at the cost of 500 life points!" The horde of Goblins charged across the field, hopped over Ichigo's two monsters, and beat him senseless with their clubs.

Jester- 300

Ichigo- 1800

Ichigo screamed in pain and crashed to his knees.

Jester snickered. "I'm not done yet. From my hand I play the quickplay magic card Sebek's Blessing. This card activates when a monster on my field attacks you directly. I gain the attack points of that monster in life points."

Jester- 2600

Ichigo- 1800

Ichigo growled darkly. "Griff…I won't let them take you!"

Jester cackled. "I go into my main phase 2!" Toon Goblin Attack Force slid to their knees. "And though my Goblins go into defense mode, I'll be sacrificing them to special summon Toon Summoned Skull!" (2500/1200) The pop-up book opened and a cartoon version of the giant demon appeared on the field. "Also, I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Ichigo stood up slowly and drew. "I switch Heal Angel into attack mode!" The golden angel stood up. "Attack Toon Dark Magician Girl!" It launched across the field towards the cartoon, holding up a sword from out of nowhere.

The Toon Dark Magician Girl screamed and took off her hat. She hopped into it and disappeared right before the sword slashed the hat in half. Then she appeared on top of the Heal Angel's head. Waving down at the angel, she returned to Jester's field.

Ichigo gasped. "How did…that's not possible?"

"Oh really?" Jester waved a finger in the air. "Toon World's special ability makes it so that whenever a non-Toon monster battles with a Toon monster; all battle damage from the non-Toon monster is zero."

Ichigo growled and clenched his fist. ("Crap…") "I can't hurt you?" Frowning, he slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Jester drew. "Toon Dark Magician Girl, attack his life points directly!" The Toon Dark Magician Girl aimed her staff at Ichigo.

The half demon pointed at his set card. "Go Spirit Barrier!" A yellow shield of light appeared around him. "While I have a monster in play all battle damage to me is zero!"

The Toon Dark Magician Girl fired a blast of energy that hit the Spirit Barrier and dissipated.

Jester growled. "Very clever…with Spirit Barrier in play you are protected. However…" His lips curled into a crazy smile. "Toon monsters can still attack normally! Demon Thunder!" The cartoon released a blast of lightning from its body that hit Heal Angel, blowing her apart. "Also, I summon another Toon Gemini Elf." Another pair of elves appeared on the field. "End turn."

Ichigo drew. "I summon Shining Force-Aroma Revival Flower (0/1600) in defense mode." A brightly colored flower appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Also, I set one card face-down on the field. End turn."

Jester drew. "You're far from safe. Go Toon Summoned Skull and Toon Dark Magician Girl!" Both monsters blasted Ichigo's two monsters and blew them apart.

Ichigo braced himself and his graveyard started to glow. "Aroma Revival Flower's special ability lets me take back one Shining Force monster from my graveyard and draw one card." He held up Heal Angel and then drew one card, adding them to his hand.

"It doesn't matter! Toon Gemini Elf, direct attack!" The two ladies charged towards him…and then screamed as an explosion of bright light blinded them.

Ichigo pointed at his now face-up set card. "Shining Flare negates one attack and lets me draw one card." He drew one card, looked at it…and smirked. ("Alright…I'm nearly ready for my counter-attack.")

Jester sneered. "Now…it's time to summon Toon Cannon Soldier (1400/1300) to the field!" A cartoon purple-colored machine appeared on the field and started dancing around. "This monster, like the real Cannon Soldier, allows me to sacrifice a monster on my field to deal you 500 life points of damage!" Toon Gemini Elf disappeared. "Take this!" Toon Cannon Soldier pulled a bazooka out of nowhere and fired, a sneering rocket was flying towards the half demon.

Ichigo gulped. "Shining Sanctuary's special ability activates!" The ivory pillars and golden statue disappeared immediately. "By sending this card to my graveyard I can negate all life point damage to me for this turn!" The rocket popped like a balloon.

Jester snapped up the last card in his hand. "Before we continue…Mystical Space Typhoon!" A blast of wind hit Spirit Barrier and shattered it, pieces of yellow glass raining around Ichigo. "End turn."

Ichigo paled. ("Yeah…no cards in play…wait a minute…") He looked down at his hand and a slight smile graced his face. "It's my turn…draw!" The top card left his deck and he snapped it up in front of his face. "I summon Shining Force-Element Commander (700/500) in attack mode!" A steel grey cyborg appeared on his field. "When I have no cards in play other than this monster, I draw two cards!" He held the two drawn cards up to his eyes… "Heh…let's see your Toon monsters laugh at this."

Jester raised an eyebrow. "Hmm…"

Ichigo snapped a card up. "I activate Element Magnetism! This magic card can only be activated when Element Commander is in play. From my graveyard I can select one Shining Force monster from my graveyard and special summon it." The brightly colored Aroma Revival Flower appeared on the field in defense mode. "If Element Commander leaves play then this monster will be destroyed."

Jester cackled. "And so what? Now you have two weak monsters. But it doesn't matter because my monsters can attack you directly."

Ichigo tapped the side of his head. "Tsk tsk…" He held up a card. "From my hand I play the magic card Revival Essence! This magic card can only activate if Aroma Revival is in play!" The flower started to spray out a cloud of pink pollen. "I can now take one Shining Force monster with 1000 or less attack points from my deck and special summon it to the field!" A spellcaster in dark robes appeared on the field. "Shining Force-Spell Binder (500/500) comes out!"

Jester and his Toon monsters chuckled and laughed. "The little dog boy has numerous tiny monsters on the field!"

Ichigo waved a finger in the air. "I'm not done yet! There's more than one way to bring out strong monsters! Polymerization activates!" A swirling vortex of energy appeared in air above him. "Now, I fuse Spell Binder, Element Commander, and Dark Reaper (1000/1700) together!" Both the cyborg and the spellcaster turned into balls of light that were sucked into the vortex. Alongside the vortex a reaper holding a scythe appeared and was sucked into it as well.

A pillar of purple light slammed down onto his field and a dark-robed mage lowered onto the field, a metal staff in one hand with a purple jewel on top of it. "Shining Force-Dark Skull Mage (2700/2500) to the field!" It struck a pose and dark winds blew around it.

"How spooky…" Jester and the Toon monsters started to laugh.

Ichigo held up a finger. "Element Magnetism's special ability…Aroma Revival Flower is destroyed." The flower exploded into dust. "And when this monster is destroyed because of an effect I may pick up one Polymerization card from my graveyard and draw one card." Without skipping a beat he slammed three cards into his disk. "Now I set three cards face-down on the field. Dark Skull Mage's special ability drains 800 attack points from Toon Summoned Skull!" A purple skull flew from the spellcaster's staff and hit the cartoon, draining its power. (1700/1200) "Go now, Dark Skull Burning!" It snapped its staff and fired a blast of burning energy that hurtled towards the Toon Cannon Soldier.

"It's pointless!" Toon Cannon Soldier twisted out of the way of the blast and started laughing. "Or have you forgotten the special ability of Toon World?"

Ichigo shrugged. "It was worth a shot. End turn."

Jester drew. "Go Toon Dark Magician Girl! Attack his life points directly!" The cartoon girl snapped up her staff and pointed it at Ichigo.

Ichigo pointed at his set card. "Go Negate Attack! This negates your attack and ends your battle phase!" The blast of energy hit a vortex of energy and it dissipated into nothing.

Jester frowned. "Then I'll use the magic card Toon Rollback. This card gives me a second battle phase!"

Ichigo paled.

"Toon Gemini Elf, attack directly!" The two ladies giggled and flew towards the half demon.

Ichigo pointed at his set card. "Go Shining Barrier! This card can only activate when a Shining Force monster is on my field! Your attack is negated and my life points increase by 2000!" A glowing golden barricade sprang up and stopped the attack.

Jester- 2600

Ichigo- 3800

Jester pointed at Ichigo. "I pay 500 life points to let Toon Summoned Skull attack you directly!" Lightning arched along the demon's body and then slammed right into Ichigo's body. "End turn."

Jester- 2100

Ichigo- 2100

Ichigo gasped in pain and dropped to his knees. "Damn you…" He drew. "I can't let you beat me…Griff is counting on me!" He fanned his hand out. ("But with Toon World in play he can overcome anything I have…unless…") He slid three cards into his disk. "I set three cards face-down on the field. Now I summon Shining Force-Heal Angel in defense mode." The golden-robed angel appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Now I play Horn of Shining Revival! This card activates when there is a Shining Force humanoid monster in play! I can take back one card with Shining in its title from my graveyard and add it to my hand." He removed a card from his graveyard. "I set one card face-down and activate my face-down Mirage of Dreams! End turn!"

Jester drew.

Ichigo caught four cards from his graveyard. "The effect of Mirage of Dreams lets me draw from the bottom of my shuffled graveyard until I get four cards!"

Jester pointed at the half demon. "Farewell! Attack now Toon Dark Magician Girl!" The spellcaster pointed her staff at the boy. A blast of pink energy left her staff tip and hurtled towards him.

Ichigo snapped his fingers. "Shining Barrier anyone?" Another card flipped up alongside it. "Emergency Provisions as well." Shining Barrier disappeared along with Mirage of Dreams and one of his set cards. The glowing golden shield appeared and blocked the blast.

Jester- 2100

Ichigo- 7100

Jester stomped his feet against the ground a few times. "You little…"

Ichigo rubbed a finger under his nose. "Care to try again?"

Jester pointed at him. "Go Toon Cannon Soldier and Toon Summoned Skull!" Both monsters blasted the boy with energy.

Jester- 1100

Ichigo- 4000

Ichigo dropped to his face. A few seconds later and he stood up weakly. ("Okay….don't mock the clown with the power to attack you directly…")

Jester pointed at Toon Summoned Skull and Toon Cannon Soldier. "I sacrifice these two monsters!" Both of them disappeared in a flash of light and Toon World started to spin around. It opened and shot out a white-scaled blue-eyed little dragon. "I summon Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon!" (3000/2500) "End turn."

Ichigo frowned and drew. ("Oh man…I'm screwed. I can't keep this going forever. Where is my Mystical Space Typhoon?") "Dark Skull Mage's special ability will now drain your monster of 800 attack points!" A purple skull exploded from the spellcaster's staff and hit the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon with energy. (2200/2500) "Attacking would be pointless. So I set three cards face-down." Three cards shimmered into existence in front of him. "End turn."

Jester drew. "We're boring the crowd boy..." He held the card up. "So let's speed things up with this! The magic card Toon Crash! This card's special ability can only activate when Toon World is in play. All Toon monsters in play gain double attack!" (4400/2500) (4000/1700) "These monsters cannot attack directly either! Go Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon!" The little dragon sprayed Dark Skull Mage with energy.

"Reverse card open!" Ichigo pointed at one of his set cards. "Negate Attack!" The trap shattered.

Jester waved a finger in the air. "Overload Defense negates one effect that negates attacks."

Ichigo grimaced and pointed at another set card. "Spirit Barrier!" A yellow barrier sprang up right before the spellcaster was blown apart. "Dark Skull Mage's special ability…"

"Is negated thanks to Toon Crash!" Jester smirked darkly and pointed at Heal Angel. "Toon Dark Magician Girl!" The cartoon spellcaster blasted the golden angel apart. "At the end phase of this turn the attack of all Toon monsters in play returns to their original totals." (3000/2500) (2000/1700) "End turn."

Ichigo looked down at his deck and then up at Jester. "I'm not beaten yet…"

"Then draw your next card. And give a show for the audience!" Jester waved his hand out to the audience, who at the moment were silent.

Ichigo drew, keeping the card out fully from arm's length. "Here we go…"

_To be continued…_

_Oh man Ichigo…please don't give up! I know those Toon monsters can't be destroyed through battle, but there has to be another way to get rid of them! Don't you have a fusion that can deal with them?_

_Next Episode: Burning Retribution_

To Bobbomp: Yes, Peten was in Dark Soul Arc.

To Anime Albino: You mean sexist. And yes, Midnight would go unopposed if Ichigo were to fall.

To Seeker of the Soul: I'm glad you like it.

To G.O.T. Nick: Don't worry dude, all will be well. As for the thief thing, he had no choice. The deck was destroying the Dark Scorpions before they could see play.

To Omegadramon: Ahran's soul has been sent to the darkness, along with those of the duelists defeated by the Wraiths and Akuma.

To LucienShadowMaster: Because if he tried to force Jester to do anything, then Jester could just kill Griff. And Shining Force cannot be affected by the power of the Dark Halo, unlike the Cyber Shadows.

To Gryphinwyrm7: Their parents don't know yet. It has only been a few hours since this has happened. However, if you want Achmed or Davis to get involved then by all means let me know.

To Just a Dude: Ahran disappeared when he lost to Akuma.

To Star: They can be saved, but Midnight has to be defeated first.


	22. Burning Retribution

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 22: Burning Retribution

"_Is negated thanks to Toon Crash!" Jester smirked darkly and pointed at Heal Angel. "Toon Dark Magician Girl!" The cartoon spellcaster blasted the golden angel apart. "At the end phase of this turn the attack of all Toon monsters in play returns to their original totals." (3000/2500) (2000/1700) "End turn."_

_Ichigo looked down at his deck and then up at Jester. "I'm not beaten yet…"_

"_Then draw your next card. And give a show for the audience!" Jester waved his hand out to the audience, who at the moment were silent._

_Ichigo drew, keeping the card out fully from arm's length. "Here we go…"_

Eri sat in the clear container and stared down at Ichigo. "Come on…win…"

Jester cackled. "You're about to be destroyed by my Toon monsters!"

Ichigo smirked. "Even with so much on the line, I still love this! Pot of Greed!" He drew two cards. "Then I play Tiny Pound Hammer!" He shuffled his four cards into his deck and drew four new ones. "Now I summon Shining Force-Marble Guard (800/2000) in defense mode!" A white marble stone statue appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Also, I play the magic card Marble Sculptor!" Two more stone statues appeared on the field next to their original self. "This card creates two Marble Guard Tokens (800/1000) in defense mode. Now you have to attack this monster before you attack anything else. Also, I play Mirage of Nightmare and set one card face-down on the field. End turn."

Jester drew. "You think that will keep you safe?"

"For a turn it will. Mirage of Nightmare lets me draw cards until I have four in my hand." Ichigo drew four cards.

Jester snickered. "Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon, Toon Dark Magician Girl, attack now!" Both of the Toon monsters released their attacks and blew the two Marble Guard Tokens apart. "End turn."

Ichigo drew. "Reverse card open! Quickplay magic card Energy Provisions!" Mirage of Nightmare disappeared. "I may sacrifice magic or trap cards in play to draw cards." He drew one card. "Let's try this on for size! I activate Tide Illusion!" Taking another card from his hand he discarded it. "This card requires I discard Ebb Tide Mimic Octopus for it to activate." A copy of Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon appeared on his field. "This card copies one monster on your field. Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon, attack Toon Dark Magician Girl!" The little dragon fired a blast of energy that blew the Toon monster apart. "And thanks to the fact that my monster is also a Toon, I can finally defeat them. End turn."

Jester- 100

Ichigo- 4000

"All right Ichigo!" Krieger jumped up and down a couple of times.

Eri smiled. "Now that clown is in trouble."

Jester snarled. "Draw!" He looked at the drawn card. "The power of Card of Sanctity forces us both to draw until we are holding six cards." He drew five cards while Ichigo only drew two. "Ah…here's what I was looking for. First I play the magic card Healing Salve." Energy flowed around his body. "This card will return my life points to 4000."

Jester- 4000

Ichigo- 4000

Ichigo growled. ("No way…")

Jester snapped a card into his disk. "Snatch Steal! This equipment magic card will take control of your Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon." The dragon flew over to his field to join the original one. "Now, attack Marble Guard!" One of them sprayed a blast of energy that hit the stone statue and blew it apart.

Ichigo pointed at his set card. "Go Fluorescent Burst!" A cloud of white powder washed over the field. "When a Shining Force monster on my field is destroyed I can prevent you from attacking for this turn!"

Jester shrugged and pointed at the token. "I sacrifice this sad little creature to summon Toon Summon Skull (2500/1200) to the field!" Toon World exploded open and spat out a cartoon demon. "I also set one card face-down and end my turn."

Ichigo closed his eyes. ("Okay…I can still win. These Toon monsters must have a weakness!") He drew. ("That's it! I have it…") "I summon Shining Force-Blizzard Lizard (1500/1000) to the field!" A frilled lizard made of ice appeared on the field. "Its special ability lets me discard a magic card from my hand to freeze one magic or trap card on the field! Toon World…is iced!" The book froze, covered in frost.

Jester cackled. "But now you have a weak monster on the field!"

"Maybe, but I'm far from done." Ichigo snapped up a card. "Monster Reincarnation's special ability lets me discard a card from my hand and add one monster from my graveyard into my hand. Reverse card open!" A swirl of energy appeared on his field. "Polymerization will fuse Ebb Tide Mimic Octopus and Blizzard Lizard together to create Shining Force-Mist Chameleon (2300/2350) in attack mode!" A giant chameleon made of mist appeared on the field.

"That monster isn't enough." Jester cackled. "Weakling little…"

"Shining Sanctuary!" Ichigo snapped open his field magic card slot and slapped a card into place. All around them huge white pillars and a golden statue appeared behind him. "This card raises the attack points of Mist Chameleon by 600 points!" (2900/2350) "Mist Chameleon, Steam Spear!" It spat out a spear made of scalding steam that pierced right through Toon Summoned Skull and blew it apart. "Without Toon World your monsters aren't quite so powerful, huh?"

Jester- 3600

Ichigo- 4000

Jester growled darkly. "How dare you interfere with comedy…"

Ichigo shrugged. "End turn."

Jester drew. "I activate the magic card Toon Index." A card was spat out of his deck. "I can now take one card with Toon in the title and add it to my hand." He snickered. "Your Mist Chameleon has the special ability to not be attacked by Effect monsters. However…that defense will not save it from me. First I play the equipment magic card Toon Markings!" Mist Chameleon was covered in a rainbow glow of light. "This card will change the equipped monster's type to Toon."

Ichigo frowned. "Mist Chameleon is unaffected by magic cards…"

"It doesn't matter; I just needed the card equipped to it. Go Toon Clash!" Jester pointed at Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon and it started to charge up energy in its jaws. "This card forces two monsters with Toon in their name or a card with Toon in its name equipped to them to battle!" The dragon released a blast of energy that hit the Mist Chameleon and blew it apart. "End turn."

Ichigo drew. "Mist Chameleon might be gone but I'm not done yet! End turn!"

Eri and Krieger both gasped, as did the crowd.

Jester drew. "So you leave yourself with nothing but a Spirit Barrier in play? That can't protect you, so now you're mine! Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon, attack his life points directly!" The little dragon spat out a blast of energy that hurtled towards Ichigo.

"Did you forget something?" Ichigo smirked. "Shining Sanctuary!" A glowing shield appeared in front of him and stopped the attack. "By sending it to the graveyard I can negate all life point damage to me."

Jester hopped up and down in frustration. "ARGH!"

Ichigo continued to smirk. "Get a grip on reality clown boy…"

"Silence!" Jester struck a pose. "I am the master of comedy, and your half-wit jokes are useless here! End turn!"

Ichigo drew. "Who's joking? I'm ready to deal with you now."

"What?" Jester chuckled. "Oh…maybe there's a bit of comedy in you after all."

Ichigo snapped up a card. "First I play the magic card Joyous Rebirth! One effect monster in my graveyard will be special summoned to the field in defense mode!" Element Commander appeared in play in a crouching position.

A yelp caught Ichigo's attention. And he looked over to see a small sand-colored blur being tossed around by the Petens. "What are they doing?"

Jester shrugged. "It's my property, right?" One of the clowns held Griff up…and then dropped him. And it was a forty foot drop.

"Griff!" Eri and Krieger both gasped.

Ichigo bit his lip. ("This had better work!") "From my hand I activate the magic card Element Pull!" A card appeared on the field next to him. "One Shining Force monster from my deck will be special summoned to the field as long as Element Commander is in play!" A gold-suited form with a silver visor appeared in play. "Shining Force-Hyperion (1600/1400) arrives!" The warrior struck a pose, light flickering around its form.

Jester's dark smile grew wider. "Twenty feet…"

Griff closed his eyes as he fell…praying for a miracle.

Ichigo snapped up another card. "Polymerization activates! Hyperion, Element Commander, and the Firestorm Cobra in my hand…let them fuse!" Energy flowed around the two humanoids…while a third flaming form joined them. But nothing happened and Polymerization went to the graveyard. "No…"

Jester started to laugh insanely. "Ten…"

("What do I do? If these three won't fuse…then I have to think of…") He frowned. "Monster special ability activates!" His deck began to glow. "Shining Force-Midnight Hawk (700/1700) lets me fuse it from my deck with monsters in play if I have no hand cards!" A pitch-black bird appeared on the field and screeched.

Griff saw the ground rushing up to meet him. ("I don't want to die…")

"FUSION!" Ichigo prayed…and an explosion of light was his answer.

Everyone in the audience and ring had to shut their eyes.

Griff whimpered…right up to the point that he was jerked up slightly. Other than a moment of whiplash though, at least he wasn't a broken mess on the ground.

Jester rubbed the spots from his eyes….and looked behind him. "What…Who are you?"

A humanoid warrior covered in flaming red armor stood with Griff held under one arm. _"I am reborn…I am skill…I was…"_

Ichigo, though still blinded, recognized the voice instantly. "It couldn't be…"

The warrior's orange visor glimmered in the spotlights…and it snapped out its flaming wings. On one arm was a three set of red-hot blades, and on the other arm there was a cannon instead of a hand. It set Griff down carefully and launched into the air, performing numerous aerial tricks before landing back on Ichigo's field. _"I was King of Swords…now I am something more…"_

Ichigo smirked. "King…it's good to see you again."

"_It is good to see you once more, Ichigo."_ The warrior nodded its head.

"Could someone please explain to me what is going on?" Jester stomped his feet a few more times.

Ichigo snickered. "I've summoned Shining Force-Inferno Solaris." (2850/2900) The warrior calmly struck a pose, the fire twisting and dancing around its form.

"So what? Your monster doesn't have the attack power to match my Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon," Jester said coldly.

Ichigo waved his finger in the air. "Actually…Inferno Solaris has a special ability that activates when I fusion summon it. All magic and trap cards in play are destroyed!" The warrior flapped its wings rapidly and fire washed over the field. "That means Toon World is destroyed!" The book lit aflame and burned to ash.

Jester's eyes bugged out as the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon screeched in pain and exploded into dust. "Oh no!"

Ichigo smirked. "I'm far from done. Inferno Solaris has another special ability. It's the power of Essence Transfer!" His life point counter dropped to 3200. "By paying life points in increments of one hundred, I can increase the attack power of Solaris by that amount!" (3650/2900)

Inferno Solaris smirked, fire circling around his cannon arm. _"It's done!"_

"It's never done!" Jester snapped up a knife. "I won't let you defeat me! By the power of Midnight, this game ends!" Waving the knife in an arc, he smirked as there was a sudden cracking noise.

GAME ENDED

Ichigo blinked in surprise as Inferno Solaris disappeared. "You cheater! As the enforcer of the darkness games, I deny you this escape!"

Jester stuck his tongue out. "It's not that easy. Even the Dark Halo didn't know all of the tricks about the darkness games!"

"Let Griff go then!"

Jester sneered. "You never defeated me. And by the way, even if you defeated me that would mean nothing, because you never made any demands about what would happen if you did succeed." He snapped up a little red ball with a star on it. "The show's over folks!" It hit the ground and an explosion of smoke filled the air.

"No…you cheater!" Ichigo charged into the smoke…and came out the other end with nothing. "Griff…no…" His fist clenched tightly. "JESTER! Where are you?"

_To be continued…_

_That lying…cheating…how dare he! And he took Eri with him…Griff too…I have to stop him from getting away! Jester, I will stop you!_

_Next Episode: Surprises around every corner; the hunt for Jester_

To Cliff Dog: No, I don't know who specifically you are talking about.

To LucienShadowMaster: Toon Gemini Elf's special ability forces the discard from your hand.

To Star AJT: Huh…I'm not sure what you mean by that…

To Bobbomp: Who would Ichigo have a kid with hmm? And wouldn't I seem stupid just to say something happened without giving a bit of backstory? Besides, are you already bored of Ichigo? Is it really that annoying to you to see the hero win in the end? Because if so, then please stop reviewing. I tried to be nice with you and your sister…I tried to have a thick skin on the whole 'being called predictable' thing…but I'm done! If there is one thing I dislike being called, it is predictable. Especially when I am called it and not given a _good _reason as to why that is. And no, the fact that 'the hero wins in the end' is not a good reason! I do plenty of bad stuff to my characters so that no one walks away from any of this unscathed. So if you want something to happen in my storyline that fits your tastes, then by all means write your own story in my universe. Go for it! I've taken down my best characters from DDL just to spice things up…and guess what AH, Ichigo didn't win. He didn't lose, but by no stretch of the imagination did he win.

To Anime Albino: I know of the effect of the Toons, and I didn't get it wrong. I'm using their anime effects too because they aren't a challenge otherwise. On that note, please stop assuming that because I'm using an effect that is wrong in the sense of the CCG (the game that you and I play) that I must not have any idea how it works and therefore you must point out that fact in your review in an asinine attempt to make me seem dumber. I know how cards work, and if I don't then so what? It's a story, and in my universe no less. Yes, I am giving you a nice rant so that you don't feel left out! So enjoy!

To Gryphinwyrm7: Yeah, the Octopus came in handy for that duel.


	23. The hunt for Jester Ultimate Seal

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 23: The hunt for Jester; Ultimate Seal

Jester danced along the rooftops of the Kyoto buildings. "I love it! Working for Midnight is great! Even if I will lose in a darkness game I…."

_("JOKER!")_

The clown crashed into a brick wall. "Oww…"

_("You would dare run from your mission?")_

Jester leapt to his feet. "Of course not master! I was just getting ready for my chance to strike back!"

_("Oh really? Of course…I see it perfectly, considering that…YOU ARE LYING!")_ Lightning exploded through the clown's body, sending him into a fit of spasms. _("I will not tolerate one of my speakers to be so foolish!")_

"But master…he's so powerful. My Toon monsters weren't able to defeat him…"

_("……I will do you this favor……")_ A card shimmered into existence next to Jester's hand.

He picked it up…and started to laugh wildly. "This card…I have the perfect deck to use it with. The boy won't be able to survive…and the Dark Halo will be yours."

Ichigo kept through the carnival. "Where are you? Jester!"

"Right here boy!" The clown jumped down amongst the crowd and bowed. "By the way, I suggest controlling your darker urges here, lest the crowd gets hurt." He lifted his arm, duel disk in place.

Ichigo snarled and activated his duel disk. "Duel!"

The crowd got out of the way.

Ichigo- 4000

Jester- 4000

Ichigo drew. "I'm first! You won't even get the chance to use your Toon monsters! From my hand I activate Polymerization! Lady of the Night and Heal Angel fuse together…" A twin-sword holding grey-eyed angel lowered onto the field. "Dark Angelica (2400/2000) is summoned! Also, I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Jester smiled coldly. "Little boy…your soul will be mine to present to Midnight. From my hand I play the magic card Extermination of Species! I call one word…" The cold smile turned sick. "…and all cards with that name in their title will be removed from the game from all locations! I call Shining!"

Ichigo barely realized what happened until Dark Angelica, his hand, and nearly eighty percent of his deck disappeared. "No way…"

"I summon Curse Bishop!" (300/1200) A humanoid demon in priestly robes appeared on the field. "By discarding one card from my hand I can call one word and sacrifice this monster. All cards with that word cannot be played for the rest of the game! Shining!" The priest exploded. "End turn."

Ichigo just stood there, completely stunned. "D…draw…" He looked at the drawn card. ("Monster Reborn…it's useless without any monsters in the graveyard.") "End turn…"

Jester drew. "Now then, it's time to pick you apart with this card! The magic card Spin the Fates! Discard four cards from your deck!" What little options Ichigo had left were disappearing rapidly. "Now I summon Alchemic Destroyer!" (1800/1500) A monster made of acid appeared on the field. "Attack now!" It launched across the field and punched Ichigo right in the gut. "When this monster deals you life point damage the top card of your deck is sent to the graveyard! End turn."

Ichigo- 2200

Jester- 4000

Ichigo dropped to one knee. ("The Shining Force is supposed to be able to protect the world…but what can I do now?") Slowly, he drew. "I set one card face-down on the field. End turn."

Jester drew. "Alchemic Destroyer, direct attack!"

"Reverse card open! Negate Attack!" Ichigo's set card flipped up and the acid monster stopped in its tracks.

Jester shrugged. "End turn."

Ichigo looked down at his deck. There was one card left in it. ("I'm going to lose…without standing even a slight chance…") He clenched his fist. ("Whatever that card is…") A single tear rolled down his cheek. ("Eri…Griff…I'm sorry…")

_Chaos smiled and waved to Eri. "Good-bye." _

"_NO!"_

_Everyone turned their head to look at the edge of the platform. All they saw was something leap up from the side of the platform and then disappear._

_Eri saw someone appear in front of her, and they snapped their whole arm in a batting motion. The ball shuddered and launched away from everyone into the open sky. There was a blinding flash of light that left everyone with spots in front of their eyes, but otherwise no one was hurt._

_Chaos' eyes widened and she clenched her fists. "Why won't you die like other mortals?"_

_Ichigo coughed weakly and fell to his knees. "Trust me...I'm three steps away from it." And he meant it too. Even at a distance it was obvious that he was badly damaged. The explosion from the previous attack left him with only tatters of a shirt remaining, his jacket completely incinerated. All along his face and chest were numerous huge burn marks that showed raw muscle tissue under them. The worst damage though was that his right arm was quite literally destroyed, with only slight remainders of muscle tissue remaining attached to his shoulder. "Eri...are you alright?"_

_The demoness stared at him in pure horror. "How are you even talking right now? You should be disabled because of pain."_

"_I should." Ichigo stood up weakly and looked at the damaged wreck of his duel disk. It was still operational, but only barely. He was amazed his deck didn't burst into flames when it was hit by the attack. "Now I have to win this...duel..." He started to fall, his vision slowly blurring away..._

_Except that someone was suddenly under him, giving him the necessary support to stand. "Adriel..."_

_The half dragon demon smiled to the half demon. "No one will defeat you until I've finished my grudge with you, Pilkington."_

_Ichigo started to feel faint, but a breath of energy flowed into his body as Hitokage helped Adriel prop him up. "Ichigo Pilkington, ever since you have arrived here at the academy nothing has been quiet." The blond-haired boy's lips lifted slightly. "For that I thank you."_

_Chaos growled and lifted her hand, another ball of energy at the tip of it. "Die!" She threw the ball, but Kenshin leapt in the way and slapped it aside._

"_Ichigo," he glanced back at the half demon, trying to ignore the burns along the back of his hand. "Don't let Chaos think that she has won. I know that you possess the power necessary to take her out. Don't let the situation weigh down on you. We're with you every step of the way."_

_Ichigo felt even more revitalized._

_Griff and Krieger both placed their hands on Ichigo's back, energy flowing into the half demon's weary body._

"_Ever since I met you all I could think about was how I was friends with someone who is definitely going to make history," Griff started to say._

"_And all I ever could think about was how you accepted me as a friend, even though I was quite obviously a threat to you," Krieger continued._

"_I felt like I was simply helping you along at the side-lines, but then when the tag team duel came along, I knew that with your help I could prove my true worth as a duelist," Griff stepped in._

"_And without you I never would have truly met Horus, who changed my life in so many good ways," Krieger whispered, his cheeks blushing as he was finally admitting to the fact that the voice of Horus in his head was truly real._

"_Thank you Ichigo Pilkington," they both said together._

_Ichigo smiled weakly, and then blinked in surprise as another hand touched the middle of his back._

"_I'm still not sure what this is all about..." Jared couldn't really transfer energy, but he felt like every little bit would be helpful. "But I know that what you are doing is making a difference. Ichigo Pilkington...don't give up."_

_That little speech seemed the most important to Ichigo, just because it was by someone who was nearly a complete stranger to him._

_Then a soft hand brushed against his cheek. "Ichigo Pilkington...I wanted to kill you originally. Then I defeated you and thought that my revenge was complete. After that you defeated me and left me with little more than shattered dreams and hopes of honor. _

_However, when Negative was destroyed I started to see the truth. It took Octavian More and his sick methods of using souls to show me something I felt since the moment I laid eyes on you." Eri's hand turned his head to the side and she kissed him. And it was a kiss that lasted a good minute or so..._

Ichigo's eyes opened slowly. "You…Jester…" He stood up. "I won't surrender! I will find the answer in this next card!" He drew. "You won't escape…I'll stop you from escaping…"

"Who's running from a dying dog?" Jester sneered. "You're on your last draw already…"

Ichigo looked at the drawn card. "Here goes nothing…magic card….activate!" The earth began to shake. "Time Warp!"

"Time Warp?" Jester blinked in surprise. "What's that going to do?"

"Time Warp's special ability lets me offer one magic card from my hand to activate it." Monster Reborn disappeared. "This card will force the duel to start over, leaving me at 100 life points and no cards in hand. I draw one card after this effect resolves."

"You can't play your cards…thanks to the effect of Curse Bishop." Jester sneered as the field faded away and everything became blurry. "There is no way for you to win."

Ichigo closed his eyes. "You're partially…right." He shuffled his deck and slammed it home. ("The Shining Force is sealed away…however…") A tingle ran through his arm. "There must be a way…there has to be…" He drew, snapping the card back in an arc. "Do or die…"

_Ichigo stood in the rapidly rising dawn…his eyes misted over as he watched the remains of the cavern entrance. He started to sniffle…and then took something out of his pocket. "My Fusion Deck…" Taking the thick stack of cards, he started to dig a small hole. And then another small hole. And then another…_

_By the time he was done there were small holes all over the area. And within each one he placed one of the fusion cards. And after burying them he said a little prayer and moved on._

_Now he stood in front of the last grave. The one that held his dearest mentor and friend. "Snake…." Squeezing his eyes shut, he dropped to his knees and started to sob. Memories of the times flashed in his head, both good and bad. The time when Eri had taken his Cyber Shadows away from him. And then the time when he had first gotten them. ("My second family…those who always helped me. They're the ones who taught me the heart of a hero…") He cried louder…_

("Why are these memories flashing through my head? I need to focus…") Ichigo tilted the card to look at him…but his heart stopped in his throat.

_Ichigo stared in amazement at the thick stack of cards. "Dad…this is so cool! Are these really my special cards?"_

_Daniel smiled and nodded. "That's right kid…they're yours. Treat them well."_

("I need to focus!") Ichigo snapped the card up in front of his eyes. ("What's this?") He looked the card's text over…and went silent. "From my hand…I play Living Wish!"

"Living Wish?" Jester blinked in surprise. "What's that going to do?"

Energy flowed around Ichigo's body. "This card allows me to access any card in existence of my call. I choose to activate the ultimate card…" A card shimmered into his hand. "…the power of Hero's Fusion!"

"Hero's Fusion?"

"Hero's Fusion is a card I heard of once long ago, and its special ability is rare indeed. It can fuse any two decks together…any two decks…"

"You don't have two decks."

Ichigo felt a tingle in his arm. ("Shining Force…it cannot be used. However…") His deck began to burn with a fire that was both black and gold. "Shining Force….and…."

_Snake stood calmly in front of Ichigo. "Ichigo…I'm sorry we failed you. We are of the shadow…just like Robert once said. That isn't enough to face the embodiment of that evil…"_

_Ichigo closed his eyes… "Snake…there is no evil in the hearts of a hero. You know that…and as such…" He held out his hand._

_Snake looked down at it…and took that hand. "Ichigo…"_

_The half demon smiled slightly. "Darkness…light…"_

"…Cyber Shadows…Fusion Activation!" An explosion of golden and black fire consumed his body….and then faded.

Jester gasped in amazement. "This cannot be…you couldn't…"

Ichigo's eyes opened. One iris was gold, while the other was black. His hair was now black with golden streaks. "Living Wish lets me draw one!" Snapping the card up to his eyes, he flipped it over. "Coins from Heaven!" Six cards shimmered into his hand.

Jester started to draw.

"Don't even bother." Ichigo held up a card. "Magic card Magic Purge!" An explosion of white fire swallowed the field. "All floating effects are gone!"

Jester gasped. "Oh no…" He removed a knife from out of nowhere. "You won't trap me…."

Ichigo snapped up a card. "Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards!" He held up his six hand cards. "I activate Soul Rebirth! This card revives the spirits of the dead…" His deck started to glow. "Also, the magic card Strength of Permanency, which takes any effect and makes it permanent. I choose Soul Rebirth!"

Jester frowned. "By the power of Midnight…"

"Quickplay magic card, Seal Force!" Ichigo snapped up a card. "This duel is now a level eight darkness game!"

The knife shattered.

"You won't run…not this time…" Ichigo held up his hand cards. "This duel…" Power arched between him and the deck. "This war…I will not let you win…I will not let you run!"

Midnight frowned. "Incredible…the Dark Halo Incarnate…he has changed the very reality of this dimension again. He's taken his old deck…and fused it with his Soul Force Deck. It shouldn't be possible…"

A wraith appeared next to him. "My master…we have located one of the Yami Makai Kami No Kados."

Any worry that Midnight felt disappeared instantly. "Excellent…I shall be there shortly to get it personally." ("Boy…nothing you can think of can match these monsters…the power of the only three Tier 4 gods in existence…the Dark Demon God Cards…")

_To be continued…_

_So it's finally been found…one of the three unstoppable Dark Demon God Cards…I Midnight shall control them all when we find their hiding places. First though, I must gain its power…come to me!_

_Next Episode: The Nova Hell Dragon; Kifunsuiryu_

_Hey Folks, Ichigo here. I'm just here to advertise for Wolf General's newest fic, Bloodlines of the Magician. It's only got two chapters so far, but it's pretty good. So give it a read when you have the time._


	24. The Nova Hell Dragon Kifunsuiryu

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 24: The Nova Hell Dragon; Kifunsuiryu

Midnight stepped down the dark cavern, his cloak flapping in the moist air that blew across his face. ("One of the Dark Demon God Cards rests here…I must awaken it and reign it to my control.")

An echoing roar shook the entire cavern.

("Perhaps rest was the wrong verb to use…") Midnight walked deeper into the cavern, and saw what he was looking for.

Within the giant cavern that the path opened up to, a huge ball of flame rested up at the ceiling.

A wraith floated over to the dark lord. "Master Midnight…here it is…"

Another roar shook the entire cavern and a blast of fire slammed down into a group of wraiths, instantly burning them to ash.

Midnight sighed and snapped his arm out to move the extra material of his cloak aside. "Beast of Divine Anger…hear me!"

The fireball seemed to move to look right at him. Another roar came from it and a blast of fire slammed down onto Midnight's body.

Moments later that fire was extinguished. "Obey me!" Tendrils of black energy shot from his hands and latched around the fireball. "You have spent too long in your prison…you are too weak to disobey me! I said obey!"

The electric chains started to crack. Another screaming roar and the fireball started to move towards him.

"Foolish beast." Midnight withdrew a card from his cloak pocket. It was completely blank. "Now then…OBEY!" The fireball roared in protest and was sucked right into the card. Moments later the face of the cardboard changed to golden-border. The text box filled up with line upon line of strange symbols. More of the molten flame drew deeper into the card, showing a blood red border color. Finally the fire died out of the picture and it formed to show a coiled serpent-like dragon with molten eyes, red and black scales all along its mile upon mile long body. Its upper body was a huge barrel-like chest with numerous serpent-necked heads attached to the top. Each head resembled that of Saint Dragon Osiris, however they all were much more angular and much more heavily armored. "Finally, I control you. And your name is Kifunsuiryu…excellent." (XX00/XX00)

The wraith from before floated up to him. "Master…what are your orders?"

Midnight trembled for a moment as the amount of energy lost sealing the Dark Demon God weighed on him…but then he shook his head out. "I must rest. This was the weakest of them…and the other two will each be more increasingly difficult. Locate them and make sure they cannot escape."

The wraith bowed and disappeared.

Midnight stared at the card intently. ("This monster is strong indeed…but far from the best. I had best make good use of this card's power. Let's see what happens if I pit it against the Dark Halo Incarnate. Even his power will not be a match for it.") A calm chuckle escaped his lips. If anything else, it would be fun to see the incarnate of the enforcer fall before a beast that the coalition of gods who created the darkness games feared with all of their heart.

* * *

_Jester frowned. "By the power of Midnight…"_

"_Quickplay magic card, Seal Force!" Ichigo snapped up a card. "This duel is now a level eight darkness game!"_

_The knife shattered._

"_You won't run…not this time…" Ichigo held up his hand cards. "This duel…" Power arched between him and the deck. "This war…I will not let you win…I will not let you run!"_

Joker paled. ("I can't escape from this duel…")

Ichigo fanned out his hand and grabbed a card from it. "I set one monster face-down and one card face-down on the field. End turn."

Joker drew. ("I have Curse Bishop again…but without him having monsters in play that I can name, I have no idea what deck this is.") "Restriction Knight (2000/1600) is summoned!" A knight in bone armor appeared on the field. "Attack his monster now!" It launched forwards and slammed its sword down…only to find a sword blocking it.

Ichigo pointed at the monster…which was himself holding a katana. "Brave Wolf Samurai (1400/1200) possesses the special ability to make it impossible to kill in battle."

Joker snarled. ("Restriction Knight's special ability only works if it destroys the monster…") He slid a card into the disk. "I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Ichigo drew. "Reverse card open!" A glowing golden gem appeared on the field. "Wisdom Stone comes into play with three counters on it. By removing one counter I can draw a card." He drew another card and held it up. "I play Emblem of Hero. This card lets me search my deck for one card with the word Hero or Shining in the title." A card slid out of his deck and he added it to his hand. "I summon Shining Shadow-Rock Strongarm (2100/500) in attack mode!" A burly warrior covered in rock armor appeared on the field. "Attack now!" It launched across the field and punched a hole in the Restriction Knight's armor. Then it exploded into dust. "I cannot deal damage to your life points with this monster. End turn."

Jester drew. ("Shining Shadow…how is this possible?") "I summon Curse Bishop (300/1200) in defense mode!" A pale-faced monster in bone armor appeared on the field in a crouching position. "I discard one card from my hand and declare Shining! Now you cannot play…"

"Wisdom Stone's special ability activates now." Ichigo pointed at the stone. "By removing one counter I can negate one effect that would restrict cards on my field." Curse Bishop exploded into dust.

Jester snarled and slid a card into his disk. "I activate Spin! This card sends one monster on your field to the top of your deck when I discard a card from my hand!" Rock Strongarm disappeared. "End turn!"

Ichigo drew. "Have you forgotten the effect of Wisdom Stone?" The jewel shattered and he drew one card. "I summon Shining Shadow-Gale Assassin (1000/1000) to the field!" A small tornado appeared on his field and formed into a hazy humanoid form. "When summoned this card sends one card on your field back to your hand!" It threw a knife made of air that hit the set card on Jester's field and made it disappear. "I switch Brave Wolf Samurai into attack mode!" The warrior stood up. "Double direct attack!" Both monster leapt forward and slashed their weapons across Jester's chest, sending him flying backwards. "End turn."

Ichigo- 2200

Jester- 1600

Jester snarled and drew. ("I've pulled it!") "I activate Extinction of Species! Shining!" Ichigo's Gale Assassin, two of the cards in his hand, and a large portion of his deck disappeared. "Now I play Return of Death. By discarding one magic card I can special summon Restrictive Knight!" The armored knight reappeared on the field. "Attack now!" It launched forwards and clashed swords with the Samurai. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Ichigo- 1600

Jester- 1600

Ichigo drew. "It ends here…and I have you to thank for it."

"What?" Jester blinked in surprise.

Ichigo held the drawn card. "Bonds of Lost Friendship…for every card in my removed from play pile the equipped monster gains 500 attack points." (10400/1200)

"No…it can't be…" Jester stumbled backwards. "You little…"

"Brave Wolf Samurai, go now! Brave Katana Slash!" The samurai slashed through the Restrictive Knight and it exploded into dust.

Ichigo- 1600

Jester- 0

Jester screamed…and turned to dust.

Ichigo shuffled his deck and closed his eyes. ("It's good to have you all back.")

* * *

Midnight lay down against his throne. ("It's time.") "Come forth."

A black form shimmered into existence behind him. "Yes master?"

He held up a card and flicked it to the form. "Go now and make sure he doesn't get to his friends. Give him a taste of what he faces."

The shadowed form looked at the card. "As you wish." It disappeared.

* * *

Ichigo turned to walk away…but stopped as he felt black smoke begin to build around the area. "Damn…"

"Greetings Ichigo Pilkington. I am Seijiru." A black-cloaked form appeared on the field and activated its duel disk.

Ichigo frowned and looked down at his deck.

Seijiru- 4000

Ichigo- 4000

Seijiru sneered and shuffled his deck, right before he drew five cards. "Let the duel begin then." He drew. "I set one monster face-down on the field and set one card face-down." Two cards shimmered into existence onto his field. "Also, I set this card face-down. End turn." Another card shimmered into existence next to the other back one.

Ichigo drew. ("God damn it…can't I get a break? Oh well…") "I summon Shining Shadow-Rock Strongarm!" (2100/500) The burly stone-armored warrior appeared on the field. "Attack the set monster now!" It launched forward and punched the set card, blowing it apart.

Seijiru drew. "Monster special ability activates…Treasure Holder (800/900) forces us both to draw one card."

Ichigo did the same. "End turn."

Seijiru drew. And his eyes narrowed slightly. ("Heh…") "I set two more cards face-down and reveal Shallow Grave." A man holding a treasure chest appeared on his field in a crouching position. "Also, I set one monster face-down. End turn."

Ichigo drew. "Strongarm, attack the set monster now!" The burly warrior punched the set card and blew it apart.

Seijiru drew. "Another Treasure Holder…"

Ichigo drew another card. "Since I have eight cards in my hand, I'll set two cards face-down on the field and end my turn."

Seijiru drew. "I summon Sangan (1000/600) in defense mode." A three-eyed furry demon appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Also, I flip up Reload." He shuffled his three cards into his deck and drew three more. "Reverse card open! Ultimate Offering lets me pay 500 life points to perform another normal summon in this turn!" His life point counter snapped down to 3000. "I normal summon Mushroom Beast (1200/900) and Burn Tribute (500/1500) in defense mode." A large grey mushroom and a flaming treasure chest appeared on his field. "Also, I set one card face-down. End turn."

Ichigo drew. "I summon Shining Shadow-Stone Guardian (800/2000) in attack mode!" A large blocky humanoid appeared on the field. "Attack Sangan now!" It slid across the field and punched the fiend right in the face, blowing it apart.

Seijiru shuffled his deck and removed a card from it. "I take one monster card from my deck with 1500 or less attack points into my hand."

Ichigo pointed at Mushroom Beast. "Go Strongarm!" The giant punched the fungus and it exploded. "End turn."

Seijiru drew. "I set one monster face-down on the field and one card face-down. End turn."

Ichigo drew. "Stone Guardian, attack the set monster now!" The humanoid flew across the field and punched the set monster, shattering it.

Seijiru sneered. "Sanctified Soul (100/100) forces us both to draw until we are holding six cards in our hand." He drew six cards.

Ichigo frowned, because he was holding seven cards. "Strongarm, attack Burn Tribute now!" The burly warrior punched the treasure chest and it shattered. "Also, I set one card face-down on the field. End turn."

Seijiru drew. "First I play Pot of Greed." Two cards were added to his hand. "Now I play Bait Doll."

Ichigo's set card flipped up and shattered into dust.

Seijiru shuffled the magic card into his deck and then pointed at his set card. "Reveal another Reload." He shuffled his hand into his deck and drew seven new cards. "Again I play Bait Doll." Ichigo's left card flipped up and shattered into dust. "Now from my hand I play Pigeonholing Book of Spell. I look at the top three cards of my deck and rearrange them." He did so. "Now I set one monster face-down, and pay 500 life points to set another one." His life points dropped to 2500. "Also, I set one card face-down on the field. End turn."

Ichigo drew. "Here we go…Cyclone!" A blast of wind hit one of Seijiru's set cards and shattered it. "Go Strongarm, attack the Treasure Holder!" It launched forward and punched the set monster, blowing it apart. They both drew one card. "Stone Guardian, attack that set monster!" The blocky humanoid flew forwards and punched another set monster, blowing it apart.

Seijiru removed a card from his graveyard. "Magician of Faith (300/400) lets me take Shallow Grave from my graveyard."

Ichigo grimaced. "I set one monster face-down on the field and end my turn."

Seijiru sneered coldly. "Tell me something…do you believe in god?" He drew. "I activate Shallow Grave!" Sangan appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Also…reveal Call of the Haunted!" The flaming Burn Tribute appeared on the field. "Now then…" Thunder crashed down around them, blowing apart nearby tents.

Clouds began to gather in the air all around them.

Ichigo stared up at the sky in confusion. ("What's going on?")

Seijiru calmly smiled. "So…" The sky began to turn blood-red. "Long ago, there was a dimension. It was a place that was full of fire…blood…it was the dimension of Hell. Not Hell itself…but the incarnate of the realm. The place that humans always based their personal hells off of. In this dark place…" His lips lifted calmly into a dark smile. "…is where it resides. It is fire…yet beyond fire…it is nightmares…it is the thing that leaves you waking up at night with sweat running down your face."

"What are you rambling on about?" Ichigo narrowed his eyes…until a baseball fireball of red and black fire shot past his head, leaving a small crater over his shoulder. "A Hell Meteor…." Sweat started to build on his face. Memories of what Rikuo had used against him in their duels flashed in his mind.

Seijiru lifted his hand and pointed at his three monsters. "I offer these three monsters…" Each of the monsters turned into a ball of fire that lifted up into the blood red cloud cover. "Their sacrifice shall fuel its summoning…"

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo clenched his fist to control the fear that was in his heart. Something was very wrong here…

Seijiru took a card from his hand. "This is the card…this is the end. Face it…the beast that overwhelms all others in its might." A pillar of fire slammed down into the ground behind him and began to form into a long serpentine shape. A scream that sounded like a million voices crying out in pain all at once came from the shape…

Ichigo stepped back, his eyes wide. "What…is this thing?"

At the end of the serpent form it exploded into a starburst shape, each one changing and shifting. Then all at once the fire disappeared, leaving a monster that towered over the whole city, its dozens of heads writhing around each other all at once.

Ichigo heard a gasp within his head. ("What is it? Halo?")

_**("It is…")**_

Seijiru pointed at the half demon. "Pay your respects to the Dark Demon God Card! Hell Nova Dragon; Kifunsuiryu!" The hydra-like dragon screamed again, the sound like a symphony of hell. Thousands of red and black fireballs slammed down all around the city of Kyoto. "The instrument of your demise!"

_To be continued…_

_Kifunsuiryu…it's amazing...but I have to find a way to beat it. I'm not sure where it came from, but I can't let it win! I still have to find Griff and Eri._

_Next Episode: The creator of the Hell Meteor vs. the Dark Halo Incarnate_

To Wolfy: I was pissed at Bobbomp because he was acting the fool.

To Star AJT: They're gods beyond gods. Creatures that are nearly beyond the human imagination…gods that never required another's will to give them power. If every stopped believing in a god, then that god would lose its power. The Dark Demon God Cards have no servants…because they don't need them.

To LucienShadowMaster: Who says that Ichigo gets one? And Fenrir is Tier 3.

To Seeker of the Soul: No, they aren't quite that powerful. In their own way though, they are even stronger than that. As for Ichigo's deck…it's in flux in the same way his soul is in flux.

To Lance Murdock: Alright, here's the lowdown. Obelisk and Osiris are Tier 2, as are nearly all of the gods Valeus played. Apocalypse Dragon, Ra, and Fenrir are Tier 3. These monsters are in the next level of power. Even Fenrir's anti-God Card ability can't affect them.


	25. The Creator of the Hell Meteor vs the Da...

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 25: The creator of the Hell Meteor vs. the Dark Halo Incarnate

Kyoto was on fire…it was burning to the ground. And in the center of the city was the cause of it all. A single giant dragon that hovered in the air over the remains of a carnival. People screamed in fear…but no one would help them. Violence had broken out in the streets, and it was as if the shadows themselves were alive and driving everyone insane.

And it was all because the first Dark Demon God merely was within the senses of these humans.

* * *

_Seijiru pointed at the half demon. "Pay your respects to the Dark Demon God Card! Hell Nova Dragon; Kifunsuiryu!" The hydra-like dragon screamed again, the sound like a symphony of hell. Thousands of red and black fireballs slammed down all around the city of Kyoto. "The instrument of your demise!"_

Seijiru- 2500

Ichigo- 4000

Seijiru sneered, while Kifunsuiryu roared, its heads writhing all around its necks. "Now then…Burn Tribute's special ability is that when it is sacrificed for a tribute summon you take 500 life points of damage!"

Seijiru- 2500

Ichigo- 3500

Ichigo barely noticed his attention fully on Kifunsuiryu.

Seijiru smirked. "Luckily for you Kifunsuiryu cannot attack during the turn it is summoned. However…" He snapped his hand card up. "I activate Divine Crush!" Ichigo's face-down card shimmered and exploded into dust. "This card destroys one magic or trap card that you have in play when I have a divine-beast monster. Also, you take 1000 life points of damage."

Seijiru- 2500

Ichigo-2500

Ichigo stared at the multi-headed dragon, fear reflected in his eyes. It was like facing the creature that had been creating those Hell Meteors that Rikuo had thrown at him in the past.

Seijiru held up a palm. "I'm not done yet. There are sixteen cards in my graveyard, and Kifunsuiryu's attack is determined by the number of cards in my graveyard times 500." (8000/8000) "End turn."

Ichigo drew. ("It's powerful…but I can beat it.") "I summon Shining Shadow-Ice Shield (0/2400) in defense mode!" A man holding a shield of ice appeared on the field in a crouching position.

Seijiru sneered, while Kifunsuiryu roared in rage. "You just triggered the effect of Kifunsuiryu. When you summon a monster he destroys it! Hell De-Birth!" One of the numerous heads spun to look at the monster. It spat out a Hell Meteor that hit the shield-carrier and incinerated it instantly.

Ichigo gasped. "When a monster is summoned?"

"That's right." Seijiru tapped the side of his head. "There is no way for you to win now."

"We'll see about that!" Ichigo slammed four cards into his disk. "I set four cards face-down on the field! Then I play Coins from Heaven!" He drew five cards while Seijiru drew four. "Now I switch Strongarm and Guardian into defense mode!" Both monsters slid to their knees. "End turn."

Seijiru drew. "First I play Bait Doll!" One of Ichigo's set cards flipped up and exploded. "Also, Cyclone!" Another card shattered. (8500/8500) "Now for the effect of Kifunsuiryu! By discarding one card from my hand it can attack twice during my battle phase!" (9000/9000) "Unleash your power, mighty god of the hellish realm!" One of the heads turned to aim at Guardian, while another aimed at Strongarm. "Double Hell Meteor!" Both heads shot a fireball of black and red that disintegrated both monsters. "End turn."

Ichigo drew. ("I'm in trouble now…his monster is too strong. However…") He fanned out his hand. ("There is still a chance.") "I flip summon Shining Shadow-Healing Medic (1200/1600) and use its effect to take back one Shining Shadow from my graveyard!"

"Hell De-Birth!" One of Kifunsuiryu's heads fired another Meteor that hit the monster and destroyed it.

Ichigo frowned. ("If this doesn't work then I am defenseless.") "I set one monster face-down on the field." As the card shimmered into existence, Kifunsuiryu didn't respond. ("Good, it doesn't destroy set monsters.") "I also set one card face-down on the field. End turn."

Seijiru drew. "I discard two cards from my hand!" (10000/10000) "Now Kifunsuiryu, unleash your ultimate attack!"

"Kifunsuiryu's ultimate attack?" Ichigo paled as every set of jaws on the monster aimed in every direction. "What's it going? You can't…"

"Just watch me! Kifunsuiryu's special ability activates! All cards on your field will be destroyed at the cost of preventing you from being attacked! Widespread Hell Meteor Storm!" Every head fired, four fireballs eliminating four of Ichigo's cards. The others simply struck different buildings and areas of Kyoto, destroying even more of the city every second. "It's so lovely…this monster is so powerful…"

Ichigo drew. ("The longer this duel drags out…the more this city will be destroyed.") "I set one monster face-down on the field. End turn."

Seijiru drew. "I discard one card! Kifunsuiryu, Double Hell Meteor!" One head sprayed a blast of red and black fire that destroyed the set monster. (10500/10500)

Ichigo caught two cards that were spat out of his graveyard. "The power of Shining Shadow…"

"Is useless." Seijiru's set card flipped up. "Forbidden Treasure prevents you from recovering cards from your graveyard."

Ichigo paled as energy charged up from another mouth. "Not so fast! I discard Shining Shadow-Kuriboh!" (300/200) A little furball in a golden suit of metal armor appeared on the field, right before it was blown apart. "All life point damage to me this turn is zero."

Seijiru frowned. ("He may figure out a way to overcome Kifunsuiryu…I cannot let that happen.") He looked at his hand…and saw the perfect plan. "I set one card face-down. End turn."

Ichigo drew. ("Alright! I have the perfect way to beat this guy!") "I play…")

"Reverse card open." Seijiru's set card flipped up. "Fool…I set you up perfectly. Reveal Grave Steal! By discarding a magic card from my hand I can activate one card from your graveyard! I choose the De-Fusion you have in there!" (11500/11500)

Ichigo blinked in surprise. "What does…I have no fusion in play!"

"Oh…but you do." Seijiru pointed at Ichigo's disk. "Your deck…will return to how it was before!"

Ichigo felt a moment of pain and a symphony of screams from his deck. "NO! Everyone…" His hand disappeared and his deck shuffled itself as it returned to Shining Force. Also, his hair and eyes returned to normal. "No..."

"Draw cards equal to the number you had before." Seijiru sneered at the drop in power he felt from Ichigo's deck. ("His fusion of power is gone…all that is left is the power that even a weakling like Jester could defeat. Therefore, I will win easily.")

Ichigo drew seven cards…but the will to fight was nearly gone. ("The Shining power of my soul won't be enough to win this battle…") He placed a card face-down onto his disk. "End turn."

Seijiru drew. "I discard one card! Kifunsuiryu, attack with Double Hell Meteor!" Two of the heads snapped around and fired one after another.

Ichigo slid a card into his disk. "Shining Force-Lady of the Night (1400/400) allows me to discard a magic card from my hand to negate one attack. All other attacks will now be direct attacks for the turn!" The first meteor dissipated.

"Then you lose regardless!" Seijiru sneered. "Burn boy!"

Ichigo snapped his fingers and a cross made of black energy appeared in front, taking the hit from the Meteor easily. "I discarded Night Cross. This card activates its true ability when discarded for the effect of Lady of the Night. Your attacks for the rest of this turn are negated. Also, I draw one card as per the normal effect of Night Cross." He drew one card, though he barely looked at it. ("I don't have a way to beat this thing. All I can do is buy time for Davis and the others until they can get away.")

Seijiru snarled in pure anger. "End turn!" (12000/12000)

Ichigo drew. "I set one card face-down on the field. End turn."

Seijiru drew. "I discard one card! Double Hell Meteor!" Two new heads snapped up and fired one after another. (12500/12500)

Ichigo slid a card into his graveyard. "I discard Fusion Sage to negate the first attack. Then I reveal Spirit Barrier." A yellow barrier of light sprang up around him. "As long as I have a monster in play then all battle damage to me is zero." The first fireball stopped inches from Lady of the Night and disappeared. The second rocketed past her and hit the Spirit Barrier, also extinguishing.

Seijiru looked completely angry. "Next turn…I'll bury that bitch and with it your best defense."

Ichigo drew. "I will not surrender…but I cannot win. I know that. I will simply keep you preoccupied until the others get away." He closed his eyes. "My turn is done."

Seijiru drew. Looking at the drawn card he sneered coldly. "You're dead…completely and utterly! I don't even need to destroy your field…instead I play Divine Crush!" The Spirit Barrier shuddered and shattered into dust. "Also I discard one card from my hand!" (13500/13500)

Seijiru- 2500

Ichigo-1500

Ichigo didn't open his eyes. ("Farewell Eri…Griff…Krieger…Davis…everyone…")

"Nova Hell Dragon; Kifunsuiryu….attack with Double Hell Meteor!" The first head spat a fireball towards the Lady of the Night.

Ichigo discarded a card. "I discard Coins from Heaven…" The fireball disappeared.

"Meet my direct attack! Hell Meteor!" Another head came in line with Ichigo. "Die, you little nuisance!" It opened its jaws and shot out a fireball that hurtled towards Ichigo with intent on killing him instantly.

* * *

Eri plucked a few pieces of plastic from her hair and glared at Griff. "You could have helped me escape you know." 

"What did you want me to do? You were acting crazy…" Griff went silent as he heard a series of roars. "Did you hear that?"

"It sounded like a duel…" Eri walked over to the window of the small apartment and moved the shades aside. "Oh my…"

Kifunsuiryu stood close to their view…and it was all the more terrifying because of what they saw. And that was Ichigo just standing there as the fireball dropped down to smite him. "ICHIGO!"

The fireball slammed down on top of him…and Ichigo felt pain. He felt more than what he had felt when Rikuo had used the Hell Meteor on him, because this was the attack's source. This was the master of the Hell Meteor, and as such he didn't stand a chance against it. ("I die…but it doesn't matter. I was living on borrowed time…")

_("You cannot die…Ichigo please…")_ Alahandra's voice rang in his head.

**_("You damned fool! Fight back already!")_** Halo screamed at him.

("I've fallen…what can I do now?") Ichigo felt the fire begin to tear away what energy he had managed to bring up to block the attack. It was all over for him. ("I just want to rest. Midnight has been toying with us…he could have killed us any time he had wanted.")

* * *

Midnight sat in his chambers…a cold smile on his shadowed face. "Perfect timing…and perfect execution. Seijiru, you are by far the best of my servants so far. And if Kifunsuiryu is the weakest of the three Yami Makai Kami no Kados, then the next two will make me invincible. I will be impossible to defeat…." He started to laugh…a laugh of release. Victory was his… 

Ichigo dropped to his knees, his protection nearly gone. ("Good bye world…I hope you can survive without me…") A blast of light exploded from his deck. ("What?")

Energy flared up from his deck. And then the fire of the Hell Meteor died out instantly.

"What?" Seijiru stared at the impossible sight. "How did you survive?"

Seijiru- 2500

Ichigo-1500

Ichigo blinked in surprise…until he realized that there was a face-up card in his magic and trap zone. ("What? I never set anything…")

"Explain!"

Ichigo slid the card out of his disk and looked at it. As he read the text his eyes widened. "I see…and I understand. There is a chance…there is always a chance!" He held the card up. Its picture was of a warrior wearing dark armor standing back to back with a warrior wearing light armor. "Crossed Brethren allows me to special summon the opposite of Kifunsuiryu from my deck!"

"The opposite of Kifunsuiryu?" Seijiru and Midnight both said at once. "There is no such thing…"

The blood red sky began to calm. A golden glow fell over Kyoto and extinguished the flames.

Ichigo held up a card that had appeared in his hand. "Then explain what I am holding." He slammed the card onto his disk. "I summon the first Shinsei Tenshi Kami no Kado!"

"Shinsei Tenshi Kami no Kado?" Midnight and Seijiru's eyes widened. "There is…"

A pillar of golden light slammed down into the ground behind Ichigo. "Your reign of chaos ends here…" A heavenly roar blew across Kyoto as a whole and extinguished the hell fires. "Noble Champion Dragon; Koukiyuushouryu is summoned!" (X000/X000) A golden ball of light lowered down from the sky and exploded open, revealing an angelic-winged dragon wearing steel armor all over its body.

"Noble Champion Dragon; Koukiyuushouryu…" Seijiru went silent. "What kind of bullshit is this? Kifunsuiryu, destroy this weak little imposter with Hell De-Birth!" One of the dragon's numerous heads snapped up and spat a fireball out at the angel dragon.

"Koukiyuushouryu's special ability makes it immune to Kifunsuiryu's special abilities!" One of the feathered wings snapped out and casually struck the fireball, destroying it instantly. "Also, Koukiyuushouryu's attack and defense power is determined by the number of cards in my hand times 2000!" Ichigo fanned out his hand. "I hold five cards right now!" (10000/10000)

Seijiru paled. "End…turn."

Ichigo drew. "I play Pot of Greed!" (14000/14000) "Now Koukiyuushouryu has more attack points than your monster!"

"Are you so certain?" Seijiru slid the top three cards off of his deck and held them up. "From my graveyard, Mushroom Beast may once per game during your main phase send the top three cards of my deck to my graveyard!" (15500/15500)

Ichigo went silent. "No…" Now his best chance was gone. There was no method left to… ("Wait…") He looked at his hand, and then at the text of Koukiyuushouryu. ("There is a chance…") "I play the magic card Shining Hero!" Energy crackled from out of his deck. "I special summon one light Shining Force monster to the field!" A gold body-suited warrior appeared on the field. "Shining Force-Hyperion (1600/1400) is summoned!"

"Die! Hell De-Birth!" One of the Hell Nova Dragon's heads snapped up to point at the warrior. But a feathery wing from Koukiyuushouryu snapped in the way. "What?"

"You can't use any of Kifunsuiryu's effects." Ichigo closed his eyes. ("Let my instinct be right.") "Field magic card, Fusion Gate!" Up in the sky the air began to swirl, like a gathering storm. "Gale Spirit Ryu and Hyperion fuse together!" An ethereal dragon appeared on the field next to Hyperion and both disappeared, replaced by a dragon armored warrior. "Spirit Galion (1800/1200) is summoned!"

"Spirit Galion's special ability won't affect Kifunsuiryu."

"It doesn't have to!" Ichigo held up another card. "Heal Angel and Lady of the Night fuse together!" A twin-sword wielding angel appeared alongside the god dragon and Galion. "Dark Angelica (2400/2000) is summoned!"

"Another useless fusion…"

Ichigo held up another card. "Firestorm Cobra and Dark Angelica fuse together!" A flaming snake appeared on the field and wrapped around the angel's body. She shimmered and was surrounded by glowing fire. "Inferno Angelica (2500/2000) is summoned! When this monster destroys a monster as a result of battle you take double that monster's attack in damage!"

"Still not enough…"

Ichigo looked at the last two cards. ("Be enough…") "Midnight Hawk and Jet Pterodactyl fuse with Spirit Galion!" A jet black bird and a bright green winged dinosaur appeared alongside the dragon warrior. In a flash of light they disappeared, replaced by a six-winged monster with air literally twisting and warping around its body. "Shining Force-Lord of Winds (3200/2500) is summoned!" It struck a pose and the remaining few fires around Kyoto were immediately blown out.

Seijiru sneered. "It's nothing but a pair of weaklings…that is all…"

Ichigo closed his eyes. ("All of my hopes…the hopes of humanity rest in their hands.") "Lord of Winds, attack Kifunsuiryu now! Four Winds Crash!" The warrior was swallowed up within a tornado that hurtled towards the dragon.

"It's nothing but a sacrifice to the Nova Hell Dragon…" Seijiru pointed at the tornado. "Unleash Hell Meteor!"

Ichigo held up his hand. "Stop!" The tornado kept going, but Lord of Winds reappeared on his field. "I may negate the battle damage to destroy all magic and trap cards on your field!" Ultimate Offering shattered. "For every magic or trap card destroyed, you take 500 damage!" (16000/16000)

Seijiru- 2000

Ichigo-1500

Seijiru shrugged. "Only a minor bit of damage…"

Ichigo pointed at his graveyard slot. "Afterwards…every card in your graveyard is removed from play! All thirty-two cards are removed, so your monster's attack is zero!" (4000/4000) "What?"

"Kifunsuiryu's attack power is always at least 4000." Seijiru sneered. "You have failed."

Ichigo smiled calmly. "Not yet…because Koukiyuushouryu is still in play…"

"It has zero attack and defense points…"

"It's special ability…" Ichigo held up his hand. "For every card in your removed from play pile it gains 100 attack points!" (3200/0)

"It isn't enough…"

"One more thing…" Light shimmered around Inferno Angelica. "All monsters on my field gain this bonus." (5600/2000)

Seijiru paled. "5600 attack points…"

Ichigo pointed at Kifunsuiryu. "Inferno Angelica, attack now! God of darkness, disappear from my sight!" The angel snapped up her two red-orange molten swords. "Starburst Slash!" She stabbed her swords right into its chest and blew it apart.

Seijiru- 400

Ichigo-1500

Seijiru stepped back. "I…still have life…"

Ichigo pointed at him. "Inferno Angelica's special ability deals you the attack of the destroyed monster times two. So you take 8000 points of damage!"

"What did you say?" Seijiru watched in horror as the angel lowered to right in front of him. She glared at him…and then exploded.

Seijiru- 0

Ichigo- 1500

Ichigo looked up at Koukiyuushouryu. "Thank you…"

The dragon roared with a sound like the very voice of an angel. And then it disappeared.

The half demon walked over and picked up all that was left of Seijiru. "The Nova Hell Dragon; Kifunsuiryu…it's so dangerous. But I can't let that scare me." He slid the card into his pocket. "Midnight…I'm coming for you."

* * *

Midnight roared in anger, the entire dimension surging around him. "DAMN YOU!"

A wraith shimmered into existence next to him. "Master…we've found the hiding place of the next Yami Makai Kami no Kado."

Midnight stopped in mid-explosion…and sneered. "Take me there…I will capture it and use it to kill the boy myself."

_To be continued…_

_There are two more of those things? And the next two are even stronger than the first? Oh man…we need to collect more information on these things. Huh? What do you mean that you know of someone who may understand these cards? Then let's go see him!_

_Next Episode: The Sage of Bahamut and the history of the God Dragon's children_

To LucienShadowMaster: No I came up with the name of the Nova Hell Dragon.

To Seeker of the Soul: Confused huh? Excellent…

To Bobbomp: Whatever. I wasn't declaring anything by what I said before except that I was venting.


	26. The Sage of Bahamut

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 26: The Sage of Bahamut and the history of the God Dragon's children

A single old form walked on the path alongside a huge mountain. "I feel them…two of the god's children have awakened. It is a shame that they had to battle against each other." Sighing, he kept walking down the path.

* * *

Midnight walked past the gathered wraiths who were gathered outside of the mansion that had housed the Seal of Fire. "So this is where the next beast has shown itself?" 

"It is within the graveyard, milord." The wraith bowed.

Midnight pulled a blank card out of his pocket. "So be it…" He stepped onto the grounds and heard a song. It was a song of despair and sorrow. "What a pleasant tune…perhaps I will keep you as a pet after you slay my enemies…" Energy crackled around him. "Be sealed!"

An explosion of black fire swallowed up the mansion, burning it to the ground. And seconds later Midnight walked past his minions with a glowing card in his hands. "This card is powerful…and I will use it appropriately. Wraiths bring me my newest servant."

* * *

Ichigo opened his eyes slowly and looked down at his hand. ("Nova Hell Dragon; Kifunsuiryu and Noble Champion Dragon; Koukiyuushouryu. They're both incredibly powerful cards…but how will I use them to my advantage? I don't fear Koukiyuushouryu, but Kifunsuiryu is such a dangerous monster. It can kill people…destroy cities…but if I don't make use of it then what was the point of me battling Midnight? I'm going to need its power.") 

After he had found Eri and Griff, they had located Davis and Krieger, who had gone to contact the Shadow Corporation. And now they were all on in a van driving to some obscure mountain range where there was supposed to be someone who knew more about these monster cards.

Davis sat back in his seat alongside the driver and frowned. "Kyoto nearly burned to the ground because of that thing in your hand Ichigo. Why don't you just destroy it and save us all a lot of trouble?"

Ichigo shook his head. "This monster is our answer…we need it to beat Midnight."

Eri sighed and looked out the back window as they drove along the mountain road. "That monster nearly killed a whole city."

"I never said I was going to summon it until we face Midnight." Ichigo glared at her and Davis. "Does either of you have a problem with me unleashing this thing on the bastard?"

They both looked away.

"_Erika…"_

Everyone in the van froze.

Davis glanced at the driver of the van. "Stop here…"

Eri looked out the back of the van window…and blinked in surprise at the gathered mist. "Wow…" She opened the back doors and poked her head out. "Who called…?" She went silent as she saw a form step out of the mist. "No…"

Ichigo looked over her shoulder. "Oh crap…"

Standing about ten feet away was a person they never though they'd see again.

"Rikuo…"

Midnight sat back in his chambers…and closed his eyes. His will extended to Rikuo's body. ("Like a puppet…perfect…")

Rikuo held up his arm and activated his duel disk. "I challenge Ichigo to a duel for the two God Cards in his possession."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes. "I refuse. Until I know more about these cards I refuse to let you try to win them back."

The wolf demon's lips lifted slightly. "Is that so? Well then let me give you a better incentive to listen to me!" He calmly stepped to the side of the road, where there was a cliff that dropped at least 300'. "Get it? Duel me or this body dies."

Ichigo grimaced. ("I have no choice now…") He started to step out of the cab…

Eri leapt past him, duel disk already locked. "I challenge you!"

Midnight smirked. ("This should come in handy…the girl is a possible threat and if I beat her then the chances of me convincing the boy to duel will increase.")

Rikuo clicked his disk into place. "Then let us take this somewhere more appropriate, dear daughter." Gray smoke swirled around both of them and they disappeared.

Ichigo frowned. ("Damn it Eri…") "Davis…get us to that guy. We need to learn more about these cards…now."

* * *

As the smoke withdrew Eri found herself staring at a graveyard setting, gravestones all around her. "Where are we?" 

Rikuo sneered as the smoke withdrew. "We're here to duel…a safe place to duel!"

Rikuo- 4000

Eri- 4000

Rikuo drew. "I begin…"

Eri narrowed her eyes and looked at her hand. ("What am I going to do? If this is my father's deck then how will I win?")

Rikuo snapped a card up. "I play the field magic card Graveyard of the Damned!" Purple mist floated around the area. "While this area is in play whenever an undead monster is in my graveyard I can discard one card from my hand to special summon it back to the field once per turn!" A card slapped down onto his disk. "One monster face-down…that's all."

Eri drew. "I summon Darkness Force-Crash Fighter (1500/1300) in attack mode!" An amazon in black leather appeared on the field. "Crash Crusher!" Her monster leapt towards the set monster and blew it apart. "Also, I set one card face-down on the field. End turn."

Rikuo drew. "First I'll activate Card of Safe Return. As long as this continuous magic card is in play whenever a monster is special summoned from a graveyard I draw one card!" A card was slammed into his graveyard. "I return Energy Zombie (1000/1000) to the field!" A zombie surrounded by glowing energy appeared on the field. "When this monster is special summoned it lets me draw one card." Two cards left his deck and entered his hand. "Now then, I play the magic card Cheerful Coffin. This card lets me discard three monsters into my graveyard."

Eri growled. ("He's dumping monsters into the graveyard.")

Rikuo snapped up another card. "Now I play the magic card Monster Reborn to revive another Energy Zombie!" Another glowing zombie appeared on the field next to the first one. Drawing two cards a dark smile crossed his face. "Little girl…are you ready to feel pain? Are you ready to see the truth behind what I seek?"

"Midnight…" The demoness' eyes widened. "No…you can't mean…"

"Oh I can…" He held up another card. "Now then, I play the magic card Tribute Substitute. This card takes the place of a sacrifice." Another of his hand cards shimmered away. "Listen dear…can you hear it?"

A horrible twisted melody of howls and screams echoed across the landscape. "Prepare yourself…my dear…for the melody of the graveyard…"

"Melody of the graveyard?" She paled.

The mist began to form and finally achieved its true form. It was a dragon…except even bigger than a normal dragon. Purple and black scales lined its lithe form. Something about it seemed feminine. Throwing back its head the dragoness chimed in its horrid melody. "Graveyard Melody Dragon; Hakabasenritsuryu!" (5000/5000)

"Graveyard Melody Dragon?" Eri trembled. "No way…"

"Hakabasenritsuryu, attack with Underworld Flames!" The dragon's head snapped down at the Crash Fighter and sprayed it with blue fire, burning it to a cinder instantly.

Eri screamed in pure pain as the fire back-lashed across her body, tearing away at her and sending her flying away.

Rikuo- 4000

Eri- 500

* * *

Ichigo cracked his head against the metal grating of the van. "OW! What the hell was that all about?" 

The driver pointed right outside. Because standing in the middle of the road was an old man with a long golden beard.

Ichigo stared in amazement. "What in the hell?"

The old man walked up to the side of the van and opened it slowly. "Greetings my young friends…I assume you have come to ask me about Kifunsuiryu and Koukiyuushouryu?"

Ichigo nodded slowly.

"I will tell you all, but at the moment you might wish to know about what is currently going on. A girl is facing the mistress of the undead."

"Mistress of the undead?" Ichigo removed the two God Cards from his jacket pocket…and gasped. They were glowing. "What's this mean?"

"It means that the daughter of Rikuo Amero is facing the Graveyard Melody Dragon." The old man sighed. "And I am sorry…but she cannot defeat Hakabasenritsuryu." He lowered his head to the ground. "She will not survive this…"

Ichigo grabbed the old man's robe. "I'll kill you…"

"That won't teach you about the children of Bahamut."

* * *

Eri stumbled to her feet weakly. She drew. "I will not surrender…" Looking at the drawn card a dark smile crossed her face. "I'll destroy you…right now! I set one monster face-down and set my hand face-down on the field!" Five cards shimmered in front of her and one horizontal monster card shimmered in front of them. "End turn." 

Rikuo drew. "I activate Pot of Greed!" Drawing two cards he snapped them up. "Now I discard one card from my hand! The special ability of Hakabasenritsuryu lets me discard a card from my hand to revive one monster to the field! This monster is considered an undead type creature from this point onward, with double attack points." A giant towering zombie holding a crossbow appeared on the field. (3600/1500) "All magic and trap cards in play will be negated and destroyed by the effect of Magic Undeath!"

Eri gasped as all of her set cards exploded into dust. "No!"

"Magic Undeath, attack now!" The monster snapped up its crossbow and shot the set monster, blowing it apart.

Eri stood there, eyes disbelieving. "No…it can't be…"

Rikuo sneered darkly. "You dared to challenge me, little girl. I alone could destroy you and your Soul Force Deck…but with the Graveyard Melody Dragon…you were dead before this duel began! Underworld Flames!" The monster unleashed a burst of fire that rolled over Eri's body like a wave.

The demoness screamed and dropped to her knees. "No…I am to be a legend…"

"No, you are to be dead." As the fire cleared all that was left was scorch-marks.

Rikuo- 4000

Eri- 0

Rikuo sneered as the dragon disappeared. "Good-bye, my daughter." His body disappeared into the mist. "Now for the boy…"

* * *

Ichigo blinked as the glow from his God Card died out. "What's this mean?"

The old man closed his eyes slowly. "It means…she had met her end at the flames of the Graveyard Melody Dragon."

Ichigo stood there, ears twitching. "No…no….no…." A dark mist began to gather around the van. "NO! NO!" Leaping past the old man, he felt Rikuo's appearance.

The wolf demon's body appeared just in time to catch a punch right to the face. ("What's this?")

Ichigo snarled at the stumbling wolf demon body. "You…" Darkness gathered around them and formed into a sphere. "I'll make you pay, you sick bastard! Midnight, duel!"

Rikuo- 4000

Ichigo- 4000

Rikuo clutched at his right eye. "The Dark Halo Incarnate…I shall kill you…" He drew six cards off of his deck. Fanning them out, he snarled through his swollen right eye. "No…Hakabasenritsuryu will do it for me!"

Ichigo shuffled his deck. ("You want to play with the Yami Makai Kami no Kados? Then I'll duel you with Kifunsuiryu…and make you feel the Hell Meteor one thousand times over!")

_To be continued…_

_Midnight…I'll kill you! With the power of Kifunsuiryu I'll destroy your soul right through the body of Rikuo…I'll make you pay for what you did to Eri!_

_Next Episode: Clash of the Children; Hellfire vs. Darkfire_


	27. Clash of the Children

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 27: Clash of the Children

"Wake up Rikuo…"

A low groan escaped Rikuo's throat. ("Ugh…did I eat some bad meat again? I feel horrible…")

"There is no time for you to sit there and feel sorry for yourself. Get up. Your daughter's life depends on it," the voice was full of authority, and a seriousness to it that spoke volumes.

The wolf demon's eyes snapped open and he stood up. "What about my daughter?"

"She is dead."

_----------------_

_Rikuo- 4000_

_Ichigo- 4000_

_Rikuo clutched at his right eye. "The Dark Halo Incarnate…I shall kill you…" He drew six cards off of his deck. Fanning them out, he snarled through his swollen right eye. "No…Hakabasenritsuryu will do it for me!"_

_Ichigo shuffled his deck. ("You want to play with the Yami Makai Kami no Kados? Then I'll duel you with Kifunsuiryu…and make you feel the Hell Meteor one thousand times over!")_

Midnight reached and grasped his control tightly around the strings that held Rikuo's body to his will. ("I'll crush you beneath my feet!")

Rikuo slammed a card into his disk. "I begin with the magic card Underworld Dreams! During our respective standby phases we either choose to discard the top three cards of our deck or pay 500 life points. Also, I set one monster face-down on the field. End turn."

Ichigo's eyes and hair turned night black. "I'll kill you." As his fingers touched the top card of his deck, a dark smile crossed his face. "Actually…I think I'll let Halo destroy you."

Midnight blinked in surprise at that declaration. "Halo?"

The dark side of Ichigo opened his eyes and took a deep breath of air. "How refreshing…a darkness game and a sacrifice to the darkness in one package. Are you ready to die, Midnight?"

Rikuo sneered. "Just make your play. Pay life points or cards from your deck. Take your choice now."

Halo slid the top three cards off of his deck and held them up. "Now let's see…I discard Pot of Greed, Coins from Heaven, and Fusion Sage." As the three cards slid into his graveyard, he chuckled. "I'm sure most duelists would be disappointed at losing such powerful cards. However…I'm far from done for this turn. In fact…by the end of this turn you will be dead."

"Big words from such a small boy." Rikuo snickered. "You won't even touch my life points this turn."

"Oh really?" Halo slapped a card down onto the disk. "I summon Shining Force-Element Commander (700/500) in attack mode!" A cyborg appeared on the field. "When this monster is summoned and I have no cards in play other than it, I draw two cards." As two cards left his deck, three cards left his hand. "Polymerization fuses Dark Reaper, Element Commander and Spell Binder together into Dark Skull Mage!" (2700/2500) A purple pillar of light hit the field and then dissipated, revealing a dark-robed spellcaster. "Then I play De-Fusion!" The mage disappeared and was replaced by the three monsters used to fuse it.

Midnight gaped in amazement. ("He has three monsters in play….which means…")

Halo pointed at the three monsters. "I offer these three monsters as sacrifices to the ultimate god of hatred!" As the three creatures disappeared, a cold smile appeared on his face. "Nova Hell Dragon; Kifunsuiryu (4000/4000) is called upon. Come down from the darkest recesses of the abyss and obey me!"

("This isn't good…he's summoned his God Card to the field…before I could…") Rikuo stared in horror as a star of red and black light began to lower down onto the field.

_----------------_

Rikuo punched a hole in the stone wall next to him. "That bastard used my body to kill my own daughter…I'm going to chew his heart out!"

"That won't be necessary…" The voice softened slightly. "There is a way to prevent her death from ever happening…but I cannot give it to you without a fight."

"You want a fight?" The wolf demon smirked. "A duel or a fist fight? I'll be glad to do either."

"I'm sure you would, demon." The shadowed form stepped into the light.

Rikuo gasped, finding it difficult to locate his breath. "You…are…"

The bronze-skinned young man brushed his tri-colored bangs back, his Egyptian clothing falling around him in the still air of the room. "That's right…I am Pharaoh Atem…though you most likely remember me as Yami, counterpart to Yugi Moto."

_----------------_

Kifunsuiryu slowly lowered onto the field, a loud demonic screech coming from its numerous heads. Spreading its blazing wings, the dragon brought all eyes to bear on Halo.

The enforcer of the darkness games flinched as he realized what the dragon was thinking. "Obey me…"

Rikuo gulped. ("I must get my Yami Makai Kami no Kado in play or else I am doomed.")

Halo met eyes with the lead head. "Obey me!"

Letting out an angered symphony of hellish cries, Kifunsuiryu spat a pair of Hell Meteors at the dark-haired boy.

Halo extended his power and knocked them away. "I said obey!" His response came as the whole dragon tackled the ground he stood on.

_------------------_

Atem's violet eyes met Rikuo's and he smiled slightly.

The wolf demon couldn't remove the surprised look from his face. "Umm…but why are you here? And where is here anyway?"

"This is the sanctuary of time. And I am here because the powers that be have plans for you." The Egyptian looked down at the ground. "Midnight is summoning the Children of Bahamut. Six dragons of power that should not ever have been created. But now he has found two of them. And if he finds the most powerful of them, then everything will be doomed."

"And what do you expect me to do about it? You said it yourself…Fenrir cannot touch these God Cards with its powers." Rikuo wanted to save his daughter…but his general's countenance took over at the last second and pointed that fact out.

"You're the best chance we have. Ichigo's Dark Halo powers won't last long enough…he needs an experienced duelist to help him. Midnight will tear him apart if they meet in a darkness game face to face." Atem snapped up his arm, a golden duel disk appearing on it. "Now, let us duel!"

Rikuo narrowed his eyes. "Why you?"

Atem's reply answered the question with perfect clarity. "We never did find out which out of the two of us was stronger…"

Rikuo lifted his arm, a duel disk appearing on it. "Duel!"

Rikuo- 4000

Atem- 4000

Rikuo drew. "I'm first, and I summon X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) in attack mode!" The yellow and blue robot appeared on his field. "Also, I set one card face-down. The turn is yours."

Atem drew. "I promise you that my skill hasn't diminished at all! I'll prove that with Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700) in attack mode!" A spellcaster with a metal staff appeared on his field. "Attack X-Head Cannon now! Magic Destruction!" As the spellcaster started to move towards the machine, Rikuo pointed at his set card.

"You got too cocky too soon. Reveal Metal Bonding Skin!" A layer of silver came over the X-Head Cannon. "This card lets me special summon one fusion of a machine on my field! XZ Tank Cannon (2400/2100) is special summoned!" A yellow and blue hover-tank appeared on the field.

Atem's magician returned to his field. "You're amazing…but not more than that! I set two cards face-down on the field. End turn."

Rikuo drew. "Look who's talking. Don't you know the effect of XZ Tank Cannon? By discarding a card from my hand I can destroy one face-down magic or trap card in play!" One of the wolf demon's hand cards disappeared. "I destroy the left card!"

When the card shattered, a pair of metal statues of Atem appeared on the field. "By destroying Simulacrum, you special summon two Avatar Tokens (1000/1000) to the field in defense mode. If these monsters are destroyed I lose half of my life points."

Rikuo pointed at one. "Go XZ Tank Cannon, attack now with Laser Barrage!" The machine's cannons lowered down and barraged one statue with energy. But instead of exploding it stood up and pointed at Tank. _"In the name of the Pharaoh, be sealed!"_

Letting out a metal screech, the machine turned to stone. Rikuo stared at it in amazement. "What did you do to my monster?"

"I did nothing. Do not forget that these two statues are avatars of the Pharaoh…of me. As such, any Duel Monster that attacks them will be sealed, unable to attack or switch modes for the rest of the duel." Atem spoke calmly, as if this was meant to be.

"End turn…" Rikuo knew he was in trouble now…because he was facing a mightier spirit than himself. And if the God Cards came out…

_("I want them to come out. Help him bring them out…")_

Shaking away Fenrir's voice, Rikuo snarled at the Egyptian. "Well, are you going to make your move or not?"

Atem drew. "Very well…but I warn you demon, this duel won't be easy. I know of your monster, and I know of the perfect way to stop it." The two Simulacrum and Skilled Dark Magician disappeared. A low rumbling shook the chamber. "Awaken my mighty god…awaken Winged Dragon of Ra!" (4900/4700) The giant golden dragon took form, and roared, shaking the whole chamber. "God Breath Cannon!" A fireball leapt from Ra's jaws that hit the XZ Tank Cannon and blew it to shreds. "End turn."

Rikuo- 1700

Atem- 4000

Rikuo just stood there, staring at Ra. One eye reflected fear…while the other reflected hunger. "Draw." Looking at the drawn card, he sneered. "You summon the most powerful of the God Cards at the start? And here I thought you wanted to play a little. Fine then, let us skip the games and go straight to the main event! Activate Emergence from the Lands of Gods! This card forces us both to special summon as many God Cards as we possess from our hands and decks to our field. However, it can only activate if we both possess at least one God Card! So…" A card slid out of his deck through its own will and entered his free hand.

Atem removed two cards from his deck. "Let us do this to see the truth…I wish to meet the destroyer…"

"Then you are a fool…" Rikuo's golden eyes locked onto Atem's violet ones. "Fenrir-Destroyer of Gods (4000/4000)…."

Atem returned the look. "Obelisk the Tormentor (4000/4000) and Saint Dragon of Osiris (3000/3000)…."

A calm air held over the chamber…

"Summon." Both voices spoke at once…and then the room disappeared in a mix of roars, black fire, and light.

* * *

Midnight sneered at Kifunsuiryu, which was imprinted in the ground. "Amazing…it won't listen to you…"

"Who said?" Halo snickered from atop the largest head of the dragon. "I just wanted to get in a comfy position to watch you lose. Now then, by discarding one card from my hand I can allow Kifunsuiryu to not only attack two times in this round, but it also gains 500 attack points because there are nine cards in the graveyard!" (4500/4500) "Double Hell Meteor!" One head spat out a fireball that hit the face-down monster and blew it apart. "Direct attack!" Another head shot a new fireball that almost hungrily dove towards the puppet body.

Midnight watched his monster get blown apart. "It's too late, you fool! You just attacked my monster…the perfect tool for calling out Hakabasenritsuryu. Graveyard Singer Dragon!" (1500/1500) A giant skeletal dragon leapt up and caught the fireball in the face, blowing it apart. "This monster returns itself to the field when destroyed as a result of battle!"

Halo growled and slid his remaining card into his disk. "I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Midnight drew. ("I must prepare myself…") "First Graveyard Singer Dragon is special summoned to the field once again!" The skeletal dragon appeared on the field.

Halo pointed at it. "You fool, Kifunsuiryu will crush it now! Hell De-Birth!" One of the God Dragon's heads shot a fireball at the skeletal dragon. It was hit and blown apart instantly. "Or have you forgotten that Kifunsuiryu destroys any monster on your field that is summoned?"

"I know more about these dragons than you do, idiot. For example, you do not know the true power of Kifunsuiryu." Midnight, through Rikuo's face, smiled coldly. "Do you know about the Limit Seals on the six Children of Bahamut?"

"Limit Seals?" Halo frowned. "I'm afraid I don't. Perhaps you would like to inform me as to what that is?"

"Gladly. But first I return Graveyard Singer Dragon!" The skeletal dragon appeared on the field once more.

"And once again…Hell De-Birth!" A new head of the hydra-like dragon snapped up and shot a fireball at the dragon.

"Activate quickplay magic card, Shield of Pure Protection!" A glowing metal shield appeared in front of Midnight's monster. "My monster cannot be destroyed during this turn!" The fireball hit the shield and dissipated. "And now you'll understand the power of Graveyard Singer Dragon. First I play Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two."

("What's he up to? Anything he summons will be unable to match the power of Kifunsuiryu...he knows that.") Halo looked at his set card. ("And even if it can…I have the method for countering.")

Midnight discarded two cards. "Boy…let me give me one last gift. It is the song…the song of your demise! Activate your ability, my dragon!" The Graveyard Singer Dragon began to sing wildly. "A counter is added to my dragon for every time it is destroyed…by removing those counters and an equal number of monsters from my graveyard, I can give tributes to one single mighty creature. The uncontested queen of death! Graveyard Melody Dragon; Hakabasenritsuryu (5000/5000) is called upon!" The giant skeletal dragoness appeared in the air, a horrid screeching leaving its throat.

Kifunsuiryu didn't even wait for Halo to tell it to do Hell De-Birth. It just shot fireball after fireball at its sister, which it hated just as much as the rest of its siblings. Fireball after fireball struck against Hakabasenritsuryu's armored plating, but nothing happened.

Halo looked up at his dragon. "Interesting…my dragon hates yours with all of its heart."

"As it should. These two children have a history of contesting over each other for dead humans' souls." Midnight threw back his head and laughed. "And of course, Kifunsuiryu can't brush her aside so easily! Now then, let us continue!"

"Come, Midnight!" Halo pointed at the puppet.

_To be continued…_

_The three Egyptian God Cards of the Pharaoh…how terrifying…and yet exciting. Fenrir, I can taste your hunger. You want to consume them…and we…what? What is he doing? Fusion…he's combining the Gods?_

_Next Episode: Creator of Light; Horakti_

To Sinister: Yes, there is six of Bahamut's Children total.

To Wolfy: They're all dragons, sorry.

To Lucien Shadow Master: Are you nuts? Bahamut's stats are Instant Win.

To Arrathir: No, Bahamut's children have nothing to do with the Egyptian God Cards.

To Nanashi Minamino: Hakabasenritsuryu's name means Graveyard Melody Dragon.


	28. Creator of Light Horakti

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 28: Creator of Light; Horakti

_Halo looked up at his dragon. "Interesting…my dragon hates yours with all of its heart."_

"_As it should. These two children have a history of contesting over each other for dead humans' souls." Midnight threw back his head and laughed. "And of course, Kifunsuiryu can't brush her aside so easily! Now then, let us continue!"_

"_Come, Midnight!" Halo pointed at the puppet._

"Now then, let me show you exactly what I was talking about. Each of the Children of Bahamut has special abilities that can only be activated when certain requirements are met. For example, Hakabasenritsuryu's Limit Seal ability activates when I get four undead monsters on my field! And considering the situation…that's easy." Midnight fanned out his five card hand. "I discard four cards from my hand to activate the power of Death's Song!" Element Commander (1400/500), Spell Binder (1000/500), Dark Reaper (2000/1700), and Graveyard Singer Dragon (3000/500) were summoned to the field on both sides of the giant mistress of death.

"You have no cards in your hand, and if you haven't forgotten…" Halo pointed two fingers at each of the four undead monsters. "Hell De-Birth!" Four of Kifunsuiryu's heads snapped up and shot four fireballs.

"It's too late you fool!" The four undead monsters disappeared. "Death Fog is unsealed!" Hakabasenritsuryu began to howl, its haunting voice shaking the ground. A black mist sprayed from its mouth over Halo's field, and Kifunsuiryu turned to stone instantly.

"That's…impossible…" Halo could barely hear himself over the cracking noises that accompanied his dragon's destruction. "The Children of Bahamut are immune to the effects of all opponent cards…"

"Except this effect. When activating the Seal Limit effect of a Child of Bahamut, it normally means instant victory for the user of that effect. However, there is a small restriction to the ability. If the opponent has a Child of Bahamut in play, then the instant win effect is negated and the Child is destroyed instead. Be content knowing that Kifunsuiryu sacrificed itself to protect your pitiful life. Since I can't attack during the turn Limit Seal abilities are activated, I end my turn." Midnight crossed his arms across his chest. ("Thanks to my knowledge of the true power of the Children of Bahamut, I shall win.")

* * *

_Rikuo just stood there, staring at Ra. One eye reflected fear…while the other reflected hunger. "Draw." Looking at the drawn card, he sneered. "You summon the most powerful of the God Cards at the start? And here I thought you wanted to play a little. Fine then, let us skip the games and go straight to the main event! Activate Emergence from the Lands of Gods! This card forces us both to special summon as many God Cards as we possess from our hands and decks to our field. However, it can only activate if we both possess at least one God Card! So…" A card slid out of his deck through its own will and entered his free hand._

_Atem removed two cards from his deck. "Let us do this to see the truth…I wish to meet the destroyer…"_

"_Then you are a fool…" Rikuo's golden eyes locked onto Atem's violet ones. "Fenrir-Destroyer of Gods (4000/4000)…."_

_Atem returned the look. "Obelisk the Tormentor (4000/4000) and Saint Dragon of Osiris (3000/3000)…."_

_A calm air held over the chamber…_

"_Summon." Both voices spoke at once…and then the room disappeared in a mix of roars, black fire, and light._

Osiris' long serpentine form lowered onto the field, its two mouths opening at once and roars echoing across the chamber. And behind it the giant blue form of Obelisk took shape.

And on Rikuo's field stood the giant black wolf form of Fenrir. It snarled at all three of the gods. They returned the snarl.

Rikuo smirked. "This confrontation is over. When Fenrir is summoned it destroys one Divine Beast or Divine monster in play! Consume!" The wolf's jaws snapped open, a ball of black fire burning at the back of its mouth.

"You cannot consume anything in this duel, Rikuo. Reverse card open!" Atem's set card flipped up. "I've been waiting for Fenrir to come, because this shadow trap card can only be used against it! God's Seal!"

Fenrir's jaws slammed shut, metal bands appearing around its muzzle.

Rikuo looked up at the restrictive bands and growled. "You…"

Atem pointed at the wolf god, which was using its paws to try and forcefully remove the bands. "God's Seal activates when a God Card tries to activate a special ability. It equips to that monster and stops it from activating its effect. Also, it loses 2000 attack points!" (2000/4000)

Rikuo clenched his fist and looked down at his hand. ("He sealed away Fenrir's powers…which mean that I am stuck. So here I go…") As he fanned out the cards a grimace crossed his face. "I activate the magic card Lone Samurai! This card can only activate when I have only one monster in play that under the effect of an opponent's card. All monsters in my deck are removed from the game and I gain 100 life points per card!" Taking seventeen cards out of his deck, he slid them into his back pocket. "Now it is just Fenrir and me…"

Rikuo- 3400

Atem- 4000

Atem blinked in surprise at that. "Amazing…you think that your wolf can stop my three gods?"

"I know Fenrir can destroy your gods…" Rikuo snapped up Pot of Greed. "I draw two cards first!" Even as the cards left his deck he emptied his hand into his deck slot. "I set four cards face-down and end my turn!"

Atem drew. "Now that I hold four cards in my hand, Osiris' attack power is now 4000!" The red dragon roared and advanced forward, knowing it was first to attack. "Attack Fenrir now! Thunder Force!" Lightning crackled along its jaws and it shot a wave of energy towards the Wolf God.

"Reverse card open!" Rikuo's set card flipped up and the blast was sucked into a vortex. "Negate Attack stops your attack and ends your battle phase!"

Atem grimaced. "So be it…I'll destroy Fenrir with Ra! At the cost of 1000 life points I'll activate God Phoenix!" The huge golden dragon lifted into the air and turned into a flaming bird-like form which screeched and hurtled towards the Wolf God. "Fenrir will now be destroyed!"

"Reverse card open!" As Rikuo's set card flipped up, Fenrir disappeared. "You just made a mistake, because Mind's Illusion protects Fenrir by preventing you from targeting Fenrir with effects this turn!"

Rikuo- 3400

Atem- 3000

The Pharaoh smiled slightly. "Good…you do not rely upon the destroyer to fight. End turn."

Rikuo drew. ("I need Fenrir to have 7000 or more attack power to summon the Eater of the Moon. Without that form of Fenrir I won't be able to stop the Pharaoh…") He had two set cards remaining, but he had no methods to stop another attack by the God Cards on his field. Glancing at the drawn card, he nodded. "I play the magic card Shield of Revealing Light!" A glowing force-field of light sprang over the field. "You cannot attack now. End turn."

Atem drew. "You forget about the effect of Ra! God Phoenix!"

Rikuo- 3400

Atem- 2000

The golden dragon screeched and turned into the burning bird-like form, charging towards the Wolf God. "You cannot stop me with your cards!"

"That's what you say! Reverse card open!" Another of Rikuo's set cards flipped up and the God Phoenix froze. Letting out a pained cry it turned back into the Winged Dragon of Ra, with steel bands wrapped around its body and wings. (2900/4700) "Trap Memory Trap copies one trap effect that has been used during the duel. So by copying God's Seal I stop your creature from attacking."

Atem growled and slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Rikuo drew. ("I can't keep him at bay much longer…") Snapping the card up his eyes widened. "First, I pay 1000 life points to keep Shield of Revealing Light in play."

Rikuo- 2400

Atem- 2000

The Pharaoh frowned. ("If I can draw Cyclone then I can remove his copy trap and destroy Fenrir.")

Rikuo flipped the drawn card over. "Treasure of Slashing Life lets me draw five cards. In five turns I must discard my hand." Sliding five cards off of his deck, the wolf demon fanned the new cards out and smiled. "Pharaoh…you thought to stifle the power of god?" His face twisted in rage. "Fool! Go Black Inferno's Roar!" The card that appeared on his field had a picture of Fenrir's open jaws with a ball of black fire within them. "This allows me to stop Fenrir from attacking for this turn and destroy one monster in play! Its attack will be added to Fenrir!" Ra exploded into black flames. (6900/4000) "Also, I play the magic card Breath of God! The attack of one God Card in play will be doubled for one turn!" (13800/4000)

"13800?" The Pharaoh's eyes widened and he stepped back.

"Now…" Rikuo's eyes burned with a dark anger. An anger that wasn't his own. "Let me give you a taste of what my true power is, mortal!" Fenrir disappeared. "Awaken Fenrir the Eater of the Moon!" (5000/5000) And Fenrir reappeared, but something about it reflected the power that the two remaining God Cards had coming off of them. "When Fenrir is my only attacking monster, its attack strength is doubled." (10000/5000) "Black Inferno's Roar!" Snapping its jaws open, the Wolf God unleashed a laser beam of black fire towards Obelisk. "It's over!"

"Reverse card open!" Atem's face-down card flipped up. "Soul Shield! At the cost of half of my life points your attack is negated and your battle phase ends!"

Rikuo- 2400

Atem- 1000

Rikuo slid his remaining three cards into his disk. "I set three cards face-down. End turn."

Atem closed his eyes, feeling the pure rage coming off of Fenrir. "God…you will not stop me! Draw!" As the top card of his deck flipped up, he smiled calmly. "I activate Monster Reborn!" The Winged Dragon of Ra reappeared on the field. "Now…I will show you a power that can only be awakened by me. Polymerization!"

"Polymerization…" Rikuo stared in amazement as a vortex opened up in the sky above the Gods. "That's…it…." Even Fenrir seemed completely surprised.

Atem began to chant in Egyptian.

("He's fusing the God Cards…he's fusing the God Cards…") It was unbelievable. For this to happen…for this to be true. It didn't seem possible…

Light flooded the chamber, and when it cleared a tall, holy form stood behind Atem. "Creator of Light; Horakti!" (Instant Win) The divine being's eyes opened slowly and looked upon Rikuo and Fenrir with a gaze of peace. "Divine Creation…end it all!" Horakti lifted up its hands together and a blast of light hurtled towards the wolves.

"Reverse card open!" Rikuo did this on reflex, knowing that if he was hit by that attack it would be the end. "Trap Reflector! Steal Soul Shield!" A bubble of light sprang up and stopped the game-ending attack. Even Shield of Revealing Light couldn't stop an Instant Win attack.

Rikuo- 1200

Atem- 1000

Atem smiled slightly. "I'm impressed…but next turn you shall lose. End turn."

Rikuo's connection to Fenrir was nearly broken now…his fear of Horakti had ruined the thin line connecting his mind to the god's. ("What can I possibly do? There is no way…") He felt despair weighing in on him…there was no point in fighting. Fenrir's God Destroyer form was out of reach now, so there was no possible technique left in his deck that could defeat Horakti…

_Rikuo sneered darkly. "You dared to challenge me, little girl. I alone could destroy you and your Soul Force Deck…but with the Graveyard Melody Dragon…you were dead before this duel began! Underworld Flames!" The monster unleashed a burst of fire that rolled over Eri's body like a wave._

_The demoness screamed and dropped to her knees. "No…I am to be a legend…"_

"_No, you are to be dead." As the fire cleared all that was left was scorch-marks._

_Rikuo- 4000_

_Eri- 0_

_Rikuo sneered as the dragon disappeared. "Good-bye, my daughter." His body disappeared into the mist. "Now for the boy…"_

Rikuo froze…and tears started to form under his eyes. ("No…Midnight…Midnight…")

_Clouds began to gather in the air all around them._

_Ichigo stared up at the sky in confusion. ("What's going on?")_

_Seijiru calmly smiled. "So…" The sky began to turn blood-red. "Long ago, there was a dimension. It was a place that was full of fire…blood…it was the dimension of Hell. Not Hell itself…but the incarnate of the realm. The place that humans always based their personal hells off of. In this dark place…" His lips lifted calmly into a dark smile. "…is where it resides. It is fire…yet beyond fire…it is nightmares…it is the thing that leaves you waking up at night with sweat running down your face."_

"_What are you rambling on about?" Ichigo narrowed his eyes…until a baseball fireball of red and black fire shot past his head, leaving a small crater over his shoulder. "A Hell Meteor…." Sweat started to build on his face. Memories of what Rikuo had used against him in their duels flashed in his mind._

_Seijiru lifted his hand and pointed at his three monsters. "I offer these three monsters…" Each of the monsters turned into a ball of fire that lifted up into the blood red cloud cover. "Their sacrifice shall fuel its summoning…"_

"_What are you talking about?" Ichigo clenched his fist to control the fear that was in his heart. Something was very wrong here…_

_Seijiru took a card from his hand. "This is the card…this is the end. Face it…the beast that overwhelms all others in its might." A pillar of fire slammed down into the ground behind him and began to form into a long serpentine shape. A scream that sounded like a million voices crying out in pain all at once came from the shape…_

_Ichigo stepped back, his eyes wide. "What…is this thing?"_

_At the end of the serpent form it exploded into a starburst shape, each one changing and shifting. Then all at once the fire disappeared, leaving a monster that towered over the whole city, its dozens of heads writhing around each other all at once._

_Ichigo heard a gasp within his head. ("What is it? Halo?")_

_**("It is…")**_

_Seijiru pointed at the half demon. "Pay your respects to the Dark Demon God Card! Hell Nova Dragon; Kifunsuiryu!" The hydra-like dragon screamed again, the sound like a symphony of hell. Thousands of red and black fireballs slammed down all around the city of Kyoto. "The instrument of your demise!"_

("That is what he is after?") Rikuo stared at the ground. ("I can't fight that…not even Fenrir…")

Atem frowned. "Make your…" His voice caught in his throat as a harmonious voice echoed across the chamber. Even Horakti seemed to notice it.

"_**Wishing on a dream that seems far-off,"**_

"_**Hoping it will come today,"**_

Rikuo's eyes widened. Even Fenrir's rage subsided…

"_**Into the starlit night,"**_

"_**Foolish Dreamers turn their gaze,"**_

"_**Waiting on a shooting star,"**_

Atem frowned slightly. "What is this?"

"_**But…What if that star is not to come?"**_

"_**Will their dreams fade to nothing?"**_

A slight smile crossed Rikuo's face. "A sign…"

"_**When the horizon darkens most,"**_

"_**We all need to believe there is hope,"**_

"A sign?" The Pharaoh looked up and around him. "But…"

"_**Is an angel watching closely over me?"**_

"_**Can there be a guiding light I've yet to see?"**_

"It means nothing to you Pharaoh…but it reminds me…I promised to protect those who I cared about." The wolf demon felt that tendril connect with Fenrir again. "And this time…and this time…" His eyes turned crimson red. "This time I won't fear that which can save them!"

"_**I know my heart should guide me but…"**_

"_**There's a hole within my soul…"**_

Atem felt a tingle. And that tingle grew… "What are you doing Rikuo?" He quickly understood… "You can't…Fenrir isn't like the other God Cards….it will consume you…"

"_**What will fill this emptiness inside of me?"**_

"_**Am I to be satisfied without knowing?"**_

"We'll have to see about that…won't we?" Rikuo bared his fangs. "My daughter's life…I will save it! I won't be the back-seat hero against Midnight! I've lost so many times when it mattered the most…I've become soft…but no more! Fenrir!"

"_**I wish, then, for a chance to see…**_

"_**Now all I need…**_

"_**Desperately…"**_

"_**Is my star to come…"**_

Both wolf demon and Wolf God threw back their heads and howled at once. And Rikuo's demonic aura of black and red exploded to at least ten times its size.

("He's fully combining himself with Fenrir…but there's no way he can possibly fight off the mind of the destroyer…it's impossible…")

Fenrir growled deep within Rikuo's mind. _("I'll swallow your soul right now, fool.")_

("Oh really? You felt the power of that dragon…and you felt fear. I am part of you…and you felt fear. There's a way to make sure that your position as the destroyer will never be challenged and you know it…so join with me. Combine your soul with mine…permanently…") Rikuo sneered. "Or are you afraid, puppy dog?"

A deep rumbling laughter was his response. _("You're such a noisy little rat…and yet in my current situation…who am I to say no?")_ Fenrir began to fade away, like a mist.

Rikuo's eyes met the Pharaoh's through the burning bonfire of aura. "The Ultimate Fenrir…the Ultimate Rikuo…you'll see them in a moment…so make whatever prayers you want to Horakti…it won't matter. You and it are lunch…" And then the aura consumed him.

_To be continued…_

_I don't have Kifunsuiryu in play anymore…but if the next card is what I calculate it to be…it won't matter. Midnight, I'll win in this next…what the hell? It's the father of the stupid girl…and he's telling me to wait? Why?_

_Next Episode: The Bringer of Ragnarok…and the new Rikuo_

To Lucien: Because Jourgen's soul is, you know…gone.

To Wolfy: I normally duel using either Zombie if my opponent's want to really play cut-throat, or I just use my machines. Krieger doesn't duel a lot because he isn't cut out for the high danger dueling, unlike Ichigo and Rikuo. And yes, I was thinking of Rikuo when I picked my pen name.

To Seeker of the Soul: Horakti is pretty much the same in all dimensions, right?

To Lance Murdock: Bahamut isn't immune to Fenrir because he still needs worshippers for power. The Six Children do not, and therefore are in a way stronger than their father. Though Bahamut can still tear any of them apart in battle.

To Dais: I do a little research on the names of the Gods.

To The Obsessive Zero Fan: Horakti appears when Atem blows Zork to dust at the end of the Pharaoh's Memory Arc.

To Hogwarts-Knight: Right now that last deck is the last thing I'm worrying about introducing. As for Vera and Cheveyo will most likely not appear. But you never know.


	29. Bringer of Ragnarok

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 29: The Bringer of Ragnarok and the new Rikuo

_Rikuo's eyes met the Pharaoh's through the burning bonfire of aura. "The Ultimate Fenrir…the Ultimate Rikuo…you'll see them in a moment…so make whatever prayers you want to Horakti…it won't matter. You and it are lunch…" And then the aura consumed him._

Atem had to brace himself as a wave of energy pushed against him. It was so powerful that he was nearly sent flying away to the back wall by it. ("What is this power? Is this the strength of someone who combines themselves with a God Card?")

The bonfire of black and red energy thrashed as if it was in pain. A dark roar of anger erupted from within it and sent cracks along the room.

The pharaoh's eyes opened slightly, nearly completely blinded against the winds coming from the aura. And what he saw sent tingles of fear down his spine.

A single crimson red eye stood in the flaming aura, and a set of shimmering white teeth contrasted against it. Drool pooled underneath the jaws and the eye looked upon Atem like he was marked to die.

("What's this I feel? It can't be feared…this is only a Duel Monster. I can control it…") Atem stepped back. Horakti didn't move an inch.

The jaws swept back and howled, the fire building up in strength. It nearly swallowed the whole room. _("I can feel it! The strength…the strength of true divinity…the power I've been searching for! I can slay them all…I can consume them all…")_ An ecstatic howl blew the fire away, leaving a glittering form standing proudly against the Creator of Light. And at its paws stood another form…a different form…a darker form. "Pharaoh…face our wrath. Fenrir; Bringer of Ragnarok." (10000/10000)

Fenrir was covered from head to paw in black steel armor, looking almost like a machine now. But something about it said that it was alive…maybe the eyes, maybe the fact that it was drooling in hunger. Its transformation left it hungry…hungry for something.

Rikuo's hair, which now went down to the ground and was streaked red, barely moved in the winds that Fenrir brought with it. "Let me ask you something, Pharaoh. Are you ready to be consumed? Are you ready to feed us?" The wolf avatar's eyes opened, revealing blood-red slotted irises. "I will tell you this now…death is coming. And death has a name…it is Fenrir." The Wolf God howled once more, while Rikuo drew. "I choose to pay 1000 life points to keep Shield of Revealing Light in effect. End turn."

Atem wiped a few beads of sweat away from his forehead. "Draw!" He didn't even look at the card. "You forget, passive barriers cannot stop an instant win attack! Go Horakti, Light of Creation!" The God lifted its hands together and light filled the room. "This is the end for you!"

Rikuo sneered darkly. "Dark Cancel!" Fenrir roared and sent Horakti crashing into the wall of the chamber, shattering the stone instantly. "While Bringer of Ragnarok is in play, you cannot win the game through instant win effects. As such, Horakti is now a useless monster. Its attack strength isn't actually a number…instead it is a concept. And in the eyes of Fenrir, concepts are pointless." (Horakti's translated attack power: 0)

"That must he Fenrir's only power…such abilities are unheard of. Even the gods have limits, and you know it!" Atem pointed at Rikuo. "So don't get so smug yet. I play De-Fusion, breaking Horakti down into Obelisk, Osiris and Ra!" The mighty divine being dissipated, returning to its three original pieces. Each of the Egyptian God Cards roared at Fenrir, and the Wolf God barely noticed them. Its eyes were looking right at the Pharaoh. ("What's it looking at?")

Rikuo smiled slightly. "The turn is still yours…so what are you waiting for Pharaoh? I'm sure you have a card that can defeat Fenrir right now…"

Atem snapped up the drawn card. "Coins from Heaven forces us both to draw until we are holding six cards!" As they drew, the Pharaoh looked up at the three divine beasts on his field. ("Fenrir's only effect must be the ability to cancel instant wins…so therefore I can still defeat him. This deck uses strategies to power the effects of each of the God Cards in my deck. I'll try to use Osiris first.") "I activate the continuous magic card Limitless Hand! Now there is no limit to the number of cards we can hold! Also, I play the shadow magic card Divine Right of Will! For every Divine Beast I have in play I can draw three cards!" He drew nine cards. "Osiris now has more attack points than Fenrir!" (13000/13000)

Rikuo shrugged his shoulders. "And so what?"

"Don't be so nonchalant! From here on out I use my full power!" Atem snapped up a card. "Horakti's Peaceful Chant is another shadow magic card, which lets me negate and destroy all magic and traps you play this turn from any location!" (12000/12000) "Osiris, Thunder Force!" Lightning crackled along the dragon god's jaws. "Annihilate the Destroyer, since his Shield of Revealing Light cannot be used!" The bolt left its jaws and hurtled towards Fenrir.

Rikuo snickered. "Bringer of Ragnarok negates all attacks that are stronger than its own."

Atem smirked. "I activate the quickplay magic card Negate the Negation, shutting down such a defense!"

Fenrir snapped its tail around and batted the Thunder Force away.

"What?" Atem's eyes snapped open. "That…but my card…"

Rikuo spoke as though Atem wasn't even there. "Bringer of Ragnarok's third special ability is that its will is law. Nothing can alter or negate its effects."

"How many abilities does this monstrosity have?" The Pharaoh looked down at his hand. "Well?"

Rikuo silently took the card off of his disk and threw it across the field. "Take a look."

Catching the card, Atem looked at the text…and paled. "What?"

_---------------_

"_That's…impossible…" Halo could barely hear himself over the cracking noises that accompanied his dragon's destruction. "The Children of Bahamut are immune to the effects of all opponent cards…"_

"_Except this effect. When activating the Seal Limit effect of a Child of Bahamut, it normally means instant victory for the user of that effect. However, there is a small restriction to the ability. If the opponent has a Child of Bahamut in play, then the instant win effect is negated and the Child is destroyed instead. Be content knowing that Kifunsuiryu sacrificed itself to protect your pitiful life. Since I can't attack during the turn Limit Seal abilities are activated, I end my turn." Midnight crossed his arms across his chest. ("Thanks to my knowledge of the true power of the Children of Bahamut, I shall win.")_

Halo looked down at his deck and then drew. Holding the card away from him, he glared right into the eyes of his enemy. "Midnight, I am the enforcer of this game. And I will stop the Children of Bahamut with my own true power…the power of calculation." He flipped the card right up to his eyes and a cold smile graced his face. "You lose."

"What?" Midnight sneered. "Would you like to rephrase that ridiculous statement?"

"No." Halo pointed at his set card. "Activate now, Crossed Brethren!" As the trap flipped up the sky began to shimmer. "And thanks to that power, I can special summon the opposite of Hakabasenritsuryu!" A strange screech that sounded like gears turning shook the sky. "And what counters death?"

"Life? That dragon has already…"

"Time, you fool." Halo pointed up into the sky. "Time Weaver Dragon; Jikanshokkouryu (4300/3000) is called to the field!" A crystalline cocoon slowly lowered down onto the field. From within it something began to stir. "Midnight, I cannot allow you to wield these dragons…and as such I will awaken the dragon that has been placed into my care by Bahamut!"

The cocoon exploded into dust and butterfly-like crystal wings spread out. The almost insect-like form of the Time Dragon emerged, still making clock-like noises. "Once per turn I can revert my field back to how it was at any point in the duel! Return now, Kifunsuiryu!" The giant demon dragon appeared alongside its brother, howling into the sky.

"You fool, Kifunsuiryu cannot defeat me so easily…" Midnight wiped a drop of sweat off of his head. "I'll crush it…and the other one…"

"You won't get the chance! I activate the magic card Mind Drain!" Halo removed his whole deck from his slot and slid it into his graveyard. "Normally this is a suicide card, because all it does is sent my whole deck into the graveyard. At the end of the turn all of those cards will be placed in the seal pile, which, unlike the removed from play pile, cannot be accessed through any means. However…" Kifunsuiryu roared.

"Idiot…from my graveyard I activate Gathered Boost!" Midnight snickered as energy ran along Hakabasenritsuryu's body. "The attack boost Kifunsuiryu gets from your whole deck being in your graveyard is negated and given to my dragon instead! That means you just killed yourself!"

Halo looked up at Kifunsuiryu. "Begin the Limit Seal ability."

"What?" Midnight's eyes widened. "But…"

"You should know that when there are forty or more cards in my graveyard, Kifunsuiryu's true special ability are awakened. It will now end this duel with me the winner, regardless of what you have in play. In other words…you've lost." Kifunsuiryu began to surround itself with hell-red flames, and it started to spin in the air, turning into a burning pinwheel. "Prepare yourself for the end!"

Midnight snarled in pure anger. ("I…I'll…")

_("You'll what, mortal?")_

Rikuo's face paled. ("You…you…")

_("I could have read your thoughts at any time, but why spoil my fun?")_ Halo pointed at Midnight. "Hell Pile-driver!"

_---------------------_

Atem stared in confusion at the card text. There were so many lines…thousands of them. ("I can't read the lettering…it's too small…")

"Fenrir; Bringer of Ragnarok has 100 effects." Rikuo spoke this matter-of-factly. "And as such only my eyes can read the text. However, there is only one method in existence to defeat Fenrir now, and that method is through one card. That card is the only way to kill the true God Card…" The Wolf Avatar opened his cold eyes and looked upon the Pharaoh. "I do not know the contents of your deck, and as such I cannot be sure whether that single card is in your possession. If it is and you draw it, this duel ends. Otherwise, death is the only thing that awaits you. Surrender Pharaoh, and show me how to save my daughter."

Atem looked at Rikuo. "The only way to defeat the undefeatable is to kill the master! I activate the shadow magic card God Hand Crusher! Obelisk will now deal you 4000 points of damage!" The blue god snapped back one arm, energy arching along that limb. "God Hand Impact!" It sent the fist hurtling towards Rikuo…

"Idiot." Rikuo stepped back and Fenrir bit off Obelisk's arm, tearing the limb away almost casually. "Bringer of Ragnarok's fourth special ability makes me immune to damage while it is in play, and if something would deal me a killing blow that monster is destroyed instead."

Obelisk roared in pain and stumbled back to Atem's field, right before it exploded. The Pharaoh slammed a card into his disk. "I activate the magic card God Breath Cannon! Now Ra will keep attacking until all of yours monsters are gone! Also, because I have ten cards in my hand Osiris has 10000 attack points!" The red dragon god disappeared. "I sacrifice it to Ra!" (10000/10000) "So now our two monsters will suicide! You didn't consider that, did you? God Breath Cannon!" The golden dragon opened its jaws and shot a blast of fire at the Wolf God.

Rikuo looked at the approaching fireball…and yawned. "You're such a bore." Fenrir opened its jaw and like a black hole, sucked up the fireball. "When Fenrir is attacked by a monster of equal attack power, it absorbs the attack power of that monster and leaves it destroyed." (20000/20000) Fenrir's jaws stretched open fully. "Black God Inferno Cannon!" An explosion of fire left its muzzle and disintegrated Ra instantly. "You've lost Pharaoh." Fenrir howled its victory. "All three of the Egyptian God Cards have been destroyed."

Atem looked up at the jaws…and smiled weakly. "So it's true…the powers that be knew about Fenrir…they knew about its strength…" He chuckled. "I submit. The duel is over."

DUEL END- WINNER RIKUO

Even though the holographic cards disappeared, Fenrir remained in play.

Atem walked towards Rikuo…but stopped at the look he was given. "Your daughter can be saved through the effect of the dragon Ichigo has just summoned to his field. I will allow you to tell him this…"

Rikuo closed his eyes and felt Fenrir's agitation. It wanted to consume the Pharaoh right now. ("No…we will not be evil. Your hunger is sated…I know it is.") When he felt no response, Fenrir faded away into mist and Rikuo's body returned to normal. "Do it."

_---------------_

The burning pinwheel that was Kifunsuiryu had reached speeds of nearly super-sonic. "This duel is done! Hell Pile-driver!" Hakabasenritsuryu was surrounded by the pinwheel and instantly entrapped. The burning fire-wheel pulled it high into the air, sending the graveyard dragon into an out of control spin as the wheel turned into a tornado of flame. "For your insolence Midnight, I will kill you through this blow!"

_("Stop.")_

Halo froze…and glanced around him in confusion. ("Who in the…")

_("Who do you think, whelp?")_

("What do you want? Shouldn't you be spending eternity trapped in darkness until I free you, weakling?")

_("……I'll let that slide…because you can save Eri.")_

Ichigo instantly shoved Halo away from the fore-front of the mind. ("How?")

_("Jikanshokkouryu's special ability can affect time, right? Well then use it right now to return Eri to life.")_

("I can't do that…we've already used the effect to revive Kifunsuiryu…and it can only be used once per turn…")

**_("Stupid fool…I know what he speaks of.")_** Halo literally trapped Ichigo in the back of their mind, and pointed at Jikanshokkouryu. "Dragon of Time, I order you to reach into the depths and retrieve the one called Erika Amero right before she died. Do so right now…"

_----------- _

_Rikuo sneered darkly. "You dared to challenge me, little girl. I alone could destroy you and your Soul Force Deck…but with the Graveyard Melody Dragon…you were dead before this duel began! Underworld Flames!" The monster unleashed a burst of fire that rolled over Eri's body like a wave._

_The demoness screamed and dropped to her knees. "No…I am to be a legend…"_ And yet as the fire burned, she felt something wrap around her. It was cool…like a morning mist.

"_No, you are to be dead." As the fire cleared all that was left was scorch-marks._

_Rikuo- 4000_

_Eri- 0_

_Rikuo sneered as the dragon disappeared. "Good-bye, my daughter." His body disappeared into the mist. "Now for the boy…"_

_------_

Eri gasped in surprise as she dropped into a pair of arms. ("I'm alive…")

Halo dropped her to the ground without a thought. "Hell Pile-driver! Finish it now!"

Kifunsuiryu screeched and the fire that held Hakabasenritsuryu in place reversed directions, sending it hurtling towards the ground.

"I cannot be overcome…not like this…" Midnight felt sweat beading across his forehead. "No…you cannot…"

"Shut up." Halo watched as the Graveyard Melody Dragon was dropped right onto its previous master. "Perhaps if you can actually learn some strategy I'll treat you like more than a bug."

SEAL LIMIT VICTORY-HALO WINS

Eri stood up slowly…just in time to feel two pairs of arms hug her tightly. ("Did I miss something?")

_To be continued…_

_Well…now we have four of the Children of Bahamut in our possession. So now we need to figure out how to get the last two before Midnight does. And how did Rikuo return from the darkness realm anyway?_

_Next Episode: A history lesson part 1_

To Star AJT: Hey, notice how the duel lasted like three turns? Well Rikuo's duel was longer and more important, since he alone isn't as powerful as Halo is.

To Wolfy: Midnight can die, but if you kill him then you'll have to face Bringer of Ragnarok.

To The Obsessive Zero Fan: I don't normally refer to Duel Monsters by their gender.

To Lucien Shadow Master: That might be true…you never know with Ryu.


	30. Surprise Surprise

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Midnight Arc

Chapter 30: Surprise Surprise

Within a large chamber a single form sat at a throne, giving him a perfect view of the stars in their entire splendor. "It's strange to think that the whole universe is made up of hundreds of billions of stars, and yet the fate of all these things can rest in the hands of beings that could not ever hope to understand what it all is." He rested his head against a hand and chuckled. "It's time to begin the planned tournament. Heart."

Someone flickered into existence right behind the throne. "Yes milord?"

"Go and retrieve those that I have listed."

"As you wish." The humanoid disappeared.

_--------------_

Ichigo rolled over in his sleep, unable to get comfy. A loud snore came from his mouth and he bit his pillow angrily, eyes shut.

Heart appeared next to him. ("The first of them.") Reaching down and tapping the boy on the back of the neck, he whispered a few words and Ichigo disappeared. ("Now for the rest of them.")

_-----------------_

Staring out at the night sky, the Sage of Bahamut frowned in concern. ("A great power is here…and it is doing something…taking the Children of Bahamut with it.") Standing up slowly, he walked towards the sliding door of his room and opened it. Poking his head out into the warm night, he extended his senses and felt something moving about the shrine. Everywhere the energy stopped, he felt a source of life disappear before it moved again. ("Is it after our guests?")

There was a light tapping noise coming from around the corner in the hallway.

Picking up his walking stick, the Sage turned around the corner and rubbed at his beard. "And who might you be?"

Covered from head to toe in red armor, Heart looked at the old man calmly from underneath his helmet. "I'm here to pick up your guests. My master requests their prescense. My apology if this causes you any problems."

"I suppose there is no problem…you are Heart?"

"Yes." Heart was slightly surprised at this. "How do you know who I am?"

"I have spoken with your master in the past…and I understand who he is." The Sage turned and walked towards his room again. "I'm going to bed."

Heart disappeared. ("Now it's Hand's time to work.")

_------------------_

Midnight kept his back against his throne, clutching at the wounds he had sustained when Kifunsuiryu had struck him with its Hell Pile-driver. ("That little child will be crushed beneath the hell of the final dark child…")

A wraith appeared alongside him. "Master…we have located the final Yami Makai Kami no Kado."

After getting over his moment of pleasure at hearing this, Midnight turned to look at his servant. "Where?"

"Right here." A yellow-armored form appeared at the foot of the throne, a card held in its hand. "I am Hand, and you will come with me."

Midnight looked down at the armored form…and then snapped his fingers. Fire exploded up around the humanoid in a pillar. "No one tells me what to do."

"I'll repeat myself only once more." Hand stepped out of the fire, completely unharmed. "Come with me."

Midnight growled and stood up, ignoring the pain in his side. "And I'll only repeat myself once more as well!"

"There is no need." Hand appeared next to him and grabbed his right arm. A second later Midnight disappeared.

The Wraith reached out to grab Hand, but he was already standing next to the time-frozen form of Kilomet Sestros. "Considering your situation, I will assume you would come willingly." Grabbing the Torture King's arm, he disappeared along with his passenger.

_-----------------------_

Sitting in his seat and still looking out at the stars, the man smiled as he felt two of his servants return. "You have them?"

"Yes milord," both Hand and Heart said at once, kneeling behind the throne. "We shall retrieve the remaining numbers.

"There is no need for that." A blue-armored form appeared between them both. "I have already collected the rest of them."

"Excellent work Brain." The man sat back in his chair and smiled. "I suppose I'll have to explain to them what this is all about. But for now…let's see how they react." Closing his eyes, he saw a giant beautiful hotel lobby. Within it were thirty-two different people…and a lot of things at once.  
_-----------------------_

Rikuo clenched his fist and pointed at two demons. "I'm not sure who I want to beat the life out of first! But oh happy day, because I've got you both within my grasp!"

Sestros cracked his knuckles and got ready to fight. "Keep talking Mutt."

Midnight, his black hair and red eyes glittering the light of the lobby, frowned at the fact that he was suddenly in a room surrounded by groups of humans and demons. Most of which had an agenda against him.

Ichigo stepped forward, his eyes beginning to turn night black. "It's my lucky day…I'm going to rip you apart. I don't know how I got here, but this will be nice…" He started to advance towards the demon.

Until a loud tapping caught the attention of everyone in the room. Standing at the desk of the lobby was an old man in a butler's suit. "If you would please look here…presenting the lord of this manor."

A man wearing a feudal Japanese lord's garments walked down a staircase, a sword strapped to his side. He had his red hair done up in a pony-tail, and his brown eyes swept over the assembled thirty-two quickly. "Greetings one and all! I am the Mediator. It is a pleasure to meet all of you. Welcome to the Tournament of Tears."

"Tournament?" Deondre Anderson stepped forward. "We didn't sign up for any tournament."

"That you didn't, but some of you were rescued from rather distasteful positions to be brought here." He tilted his head in the direction of Ryu, Daniel, Adriel, Kenshin and Ahran. "And by entering, win or lose, you may keep your souls."

Ryu narrowed his eyes. "I'll participate…if just for a chance to get at the blasphemer." He glanced over at Midnight angrily.

The Mediator glanced at all of the gathered demon and humans again. "Well then…shall we get the preliminary matches underway?" Turning, he began to walk up the stairs. "Follow me please. If you do not have a deck then one will be provided to you!"

Jennie nearly crashed into Daniel in her hurry to hug him. "Dear…what's going on?"

"I have no absolutely no idea…" Hugging her back with one arm, he watched the Mediator's back. ("You're familiar…like I should know you. Why?")

Slowly, everyone filed up the stairs.

_-------------------_

The Mediator led them all to a giant arena, with balconies surrounding it on all sides. "Come along now, find a seat." He walked down along the arena floor to a large statue of a dragon at one end.

Everyone quickly found their seat amongst the balconies, though it was difficult for many of the demons not to start fighting over the fact that they were sitting so close to their hated enemies.

_--------------_

Ichigo looked at the Mediator and growled darkly. Something about that guy pissed him off. ("Smug bastard interferes with our world and without a word of explanation expects us to play his little games.")

**_("Go with it for now.")_** Halo spoke quietly in his head. **_("This might be our chance to stop Midnight before he hurts anyone else.")_**

_--------------_

Standing in front of the statue, the Mediator lifted his hand up and snapped his fingers. A hole opened in the wall next to him and revealed a screen. "First, let the preliminary matches start! Go randomizer!"

Names began flashing across the screen…and then it stopped.

_First match: Ichigo Pilkington vs. Ahran Amero_

Ichigo blinked in surprise…and realized that as he was standing up someone else was standing up at the same time. Slowly he turned his head…and found himself staring at his mirror image, which were a few seats away. "Ahran…you're…not part of me?"

"No…not this time." Closing his emerald eyes, the wolf demon leapt from the balcony and landed on the arena floor. "Let's begin…Ichigo. I have no hate against you, but my father spoke with me shortly before we left that lobby. I will duel without regret in my heart. I apologize for the fact that you will not win."

Ichigo dropped down next to him. "Speak all you want about winning, but understand that I plan on taking down Midnight."

"We'll see…" Both of them loaded up their duel disks.

The Mediator smiled slightly. "And here are the rules. Each player has 4000 life points, and basic card rules apply. No God Cards may be played, however. Also, cheating will result in instant disqualification. Now, begin!"

Ichigo- 4000

Ahran- 4000

Ichigo drew. "Let's do it! Duel!"

And all the while the Mediator smiled slightly and rested his back against the statue. ("It will all come to pass…the ultimate power will be mine.")

_End of Season; Continued in Tournament of Tears Arc_

To Star AJT: Yeah, but for now the Mediator has it.

To Wolfy: Yes, I do duel in regional tournaments sometimes.

To Seeker of the Soul: It isn't like Bringer of Ragnarok is going to find lots of use in this tournament.

To Lucien Shadow Master: Apocalypse? No, Ragnarok means Ragnarok. It's a big end all battle between the Norse gods.


End file.
